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What is “locsolkodás” in Hungarian Easter tradition?

Locsolkodás (“the sprinkling”) is a Hungarian Easter Monday tradition with no direct English equivalent. Boys and men go door-to-door visiting female relatives and friends, recite a short rhyming verse, then sprinkle the women with water (originally a bucket; today usually perfume or cologne). In exchange, they receive a painted egg, a small drink, and sometimes money.

The custom predates Christianity and ties back to spring fertility rituals shared across central Europe. Slovakia and parts of the Czech Republic practice variants too. In modern Hungary, locsolkodás mostly survives as a family tradition, with verses passed down through generations. “Zöld erdőben jártam...” is a common opener.