National Day in Hungary honors St. Stephen I, the nation's first king and founder of the Hungarian state. Marked by church processions, parades and grand fireworks over the Danube, it symbolizes Hungary's statehood, Christian heritage and national unity.

When is National Day?

National Day in Hungary is celebrated on August 20.

The following is the list of National Day from 2020 to 2049.

The History of National Day?

Hungary's National Day traces its origins to King Stephen I (St. Stephen), crowned around 1000 AD, who unified the Hungarian tribes and converted the nation to Christianity.

He established strong central authority, created dioceses, and linked Hungary with Western Europe. Stephen's reign is considered the birth of the Hungarian state.

After his death in 1038, Stephen was canonized as a saint in 1083 by Pope Gregory VII. His feast day was set on August 20, and it became both a religious and national commemoration. Medieval Hungary honored St. Stephen as both a king and a saint, guardian of the nation.

During the centuries of Ottoman occupation (16th–17th centuries), the day remained a religious observance but was less nationally prominent. Under Habsburg rule, celebrations of St. Stephen's Day were revived as a way to preserve Hungarian national identity.

By the 19th century, August 20 had grown into a national holiday, symbolizing Hungary's Christian roots and historical continuity. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the holiday became even more central to Hungarian national pride.

In 1949, under communist rule, the government tried to suppress its religious significance and rebranded it as Constitution Day, celebrating the new socialist constitution.

After the fall of communism in 1989, the holiday was restored to its original form as St. Stephen's Day. It regained its full meaning as Hungary's National Day, celebrating statehood, Christianity, and independence.