The world famous Hungarian folk art was born of the harsh world of peasants, where every piece of garment had its significance, where it was a disgrace to get married without a trousseau, where Christian holidays resurrected superstitious beliefs. The farmers and animal breeders of the villages inhabited by various nationalities rarely had a rest, and their wealth consisted in embroidered garments or ?Miska' jugs that now serve as souvenirs. Though many identify folk music with gypsy music, the musical instrument of rural areas was the bagpipe, and its food: mush and turf-cake.

  Costume
In the ethnically diverse Hungary (at present there are 13 national and ethnic minorities living in the country) folk costumes first became popular in the first half of the 19th century, during the Reform Period. The original simple embroidery in blue and red (these were the only colours for which plant dyes were available), which were intended to express national identity, were replaced by colourful garments with varied patterns by the last century: the change was triggered by production for the market, the wedding events in the 20's and tourism. The patters attained their diversity on display in the shops today were derived from the designs used by skin-dressers, who were considered the top of the leather trade. The Matyó embroidery is a typical example; Kalotaszeg, the centre of the re-discovery of folk art, and Kalocsa are also famous.

In the rural world every item had its significance; garments and hats revealed their owner's place of origin and rank; these codes were strictly enforced. Typical garments

included braids on the shortcoats of the lesser nobility, the embroidered frieze cloaks, the fur-coat of the rich, the fur-coat (?suba") embroidered by men (made from the hides of 13 sheep), and the bonnet of married women. The folk costumes seen today were used at festive occasions, while for work, very simple hempen clothes and sandals, rather than boots, were worn.

  Work and Home
The inhabitants of villages, manors, country towns and farmsteads consisting of agricultural buildings made their living from farming and animal husbandry.

Extensive animal husbandry was common; typical Hungarian breeds such as the grey cattle and the long-wool ?racka' sheep were well suited to this. In the hierarchy of animal breeding, the horse-herd came first (Hungarian horses are world famous to this day), followed by the cowherd tending the cattle, then by the swine-herd and the shepherd (the latter two in reverse order in the Great Plains). Oxen, used for tillage, to pull the plough and the hay-cart, which could be loaded to an enormous size, were highly valued.

The typical grain crop was wheat in the plains and mainly rye in the hills, the latter harvested with the sickle. Forests were used for mushroom growing and bee-keeping; the flood-plains before the regulation of rivers were suited for fruit growing, while two national products of horticulture, paprika from Szeged and Kalocsa and onions from Makó are still famous.

The potters of the Gömör region in the North-east and of the Õrség in the West have continued using the ancient techniques to make their clay vessels to this day (the latter use fire-proof clay); these are typical products of the Hungarian folk art.

The trade of the ferrier was partly veterinary in nature. Spinning and weaving was a job for women; the former one also served as a social event in winter, giving occasion for joint singing and story-telling. Clothes and textiles, or in other words, the trousseau was the most valued asset in the household; this is what brides took with them when they got married. Every household had its hand-mill, used to make bread (baked twice a week) and the turf-cake (?ash-baked biscuit") of folk tale fame, which was baked stone hard, thus it kept well during journeys. Dairy products were much needed because of the frequent fasts held in the mostly catholic families.

The typical dwelling in poor regions, for instance in the Õrség, was the ?smoky house" built without a chimney and furnished with roughly hewn items. The well-to-do Sárköz typically had new houses with a ?best room", which was not used except to display the wealth of the family. Valued assets included the trousseau, embroidery, clayware (e.g. the ?Miska" jug), wooden furniture as well as herdsmen's carvings and waxed razor cases, which served as presents.