Carnival is one of the most exciting times of the year, when masks, noisy celebrations, and ancient rituals take center stage. Its roots go back to traditions celebrating the end of winter and fertility and renewal, which have been enriched with new meanings over the centuries. These customs are still alive and well in Hungary today: many towns and villages hold special carnival celebrations, where the banishment of winter sometimes takes on quite astonishing forms. Csodasmagyarorszag.hu has compiled a list of carnival events that everyone should experience at least once.

1. Mátrai Borotválós Asszonyfarsang (Shaving Women’s Carnival) – February 7, 2026

Parádsasvár, one of the most charming villages in the Mátra region, has a carnival tradition that is unique in the country. The Shaving Women’s Carnival has played a significant role in the lives of the locals for more than a hundred years: it is a noisy, playful custom to bid farewell to winter and welcome spring, in which, unusually, women play the leading role.

At the end of the carnival, the women dress up as barbers and clean the men’s faces with flour, cotton wool, and wooden razors. According to folk tradition, this playful ritual symbolizes purification and becoming a man. The ceremony is led by the barber, his assistant, and the collection box, who are also the leaders of the masked parade.

Behind the barbers, a long line of children and adults in costumes parade through the streets of the village: pots and lids clatter, music plays, and figures representing old crafts appear in the procession – midwives, pot menders, and women collecting flour, eggs, and yeast. The parade includes the playful chasing of men and the „catching of bachelors,” which anyone can easily join in.

The experiences don’t end there: for a tasting ticket, you can try bachelor soup cooked in a cauldron, which, according to tradition, helps you find your way to marriage. The day is rounded off with concerts, a retro disco, and other carnival programs.

2. Mohács Busójárás – February 12–17, 2026.

The Busójárás in Mohács has been on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage since 2009, and since 2012 it has been considered a Hungarikum, which primarily signifies the success of the citizens of Mohács, the busó groups, the mask carvers, and the costume makers. This year, the Busó Carnival will be held from February 12 to 17. Over six days, more than 140 programs await visitors at 27 locations: dance houses, folk art and craft fairs, concerts, show cooking, children’s programs, and carnival games fill the city.

The spectacular busó parade takes place on February 15, Carnival Sunday, with Kóló Square as its center. This is where the costumed busós, jankelék and maskarások gather, and where the groups crossing the Danube by boat arrive. The various groups – the cannoners, carters, devil wheelers, horn blowers, turtles, and other busós – set off along the main street toward the town’s main square to the sound of the old muzzle-loading busó cannon. After the parade, the free carnival begins, and the celebration continues with noisy festivities on the banks of the Danube and in the surrounding streets.

At dusk, the busók return to the main square, where they dance and joke around a huge bonfire to conclude Carnival Sunday. However, the festivities do not end there: on Shrove Tuesday, February 17, another bonfire is lit, on which a coffin symbolizing winter is burned. The bonfire, around which people dance, symbolizes both the farewell to the cold season and the welcoming of spring.

3. Log pulling by the Slovenes of the Raba region – February 14, 2026.

Log pulling by the Slovenes of the Raba region has been on the list of intangible cultural heritage since 2015. The purpose of this dramatic, playful custom is to encourage young people to marry and start families.

Since carnival was traditionally a time for marriages, it was considered a great shame if no one in a community had married in the past year. In memory of this, Szentgotthárd-Rábatótfalu organizes a humorous parade at the end of carnival in honor of the „oldest spinsters” and „bachelors.” The costume ceremony ends with a mock wedding and a feast, and during the parade, the community is entertained with plays and festivities.

Among the traditional characters are the bride and groom (who sometimes switch roles), young men dressed as bridesmaids, an old man and old woman with a swaddled baby, and a „gypsy woman” begging for money. Unmarried girls are tied in a row to a long pine branch and „have to pull the load,” reminding them of their age-related responsibilities. At the end of the procession, the „bishop” or „priest” sits in a carriage and marries the „young people,” bringing the carnival play to a close.

4. Mohai tikverőzés – (expected) February 17, 2026

The village of Moha, near Székesfehérvár, preserves a truly unique carnival tradition: tikverőzés, which has been included in the national register of intangible cultural heritage since 2011. This noisy, playful custom comes to life on the last day of carnival, Shrove Tuesday.

Young men between the ages of 14 and 20 dress up in characteristic costumes: clowns decorated with rags, straw men in white clothes, and chimney sweeps who bring good luck, while the youngest participants appear as girls. The masqueraders walk through the village, going from house to house and yard to yard, collecting eggs found in chicken coops, which are symbols of abundance and fertility.

The name of the ritual refers to the symbolic „beating of the hens”: the clowns use their sticks to symbolically beat the hens, thereby helping their fertility. Smearing with soot is also part of the tradition: participants smear soot on the hosts, passers-by, and interested onlookers—especially girls, women, and the large number of children who come every year.

Nowadays, in addition to eggs, doughnuts and wine await the egg collectors at the houses, and the hundreds of eggs collected are used to make scrambled eggs for the evening’s festivities. This feast and dance marks the end of Carnival for the villagers.

+1: National Carnival Donut Festival in Nagykanizsa – February 12–14, 2026

There is no carnival without real doughnuts and other delicacies! At the 18th National Carnival Doughnut Festival in Nagykanizsa, everyone can experience how traditional doughnuts can come to life in today’s cuisine with so many variations and rich flavors.

From February 12 to 14, visitors can take part in a carnival parade, a gastronomic competition, and doughnut tasting, but the festival also offers a fair, cultural programs, a children’s island, concerts, and even a carnival costume run. Not only the delicacies, but also the pulsating atmosphere of carnival are guaranteed to captivate participants.