The 15th Advent Basilica will celebrate its anniversary with a special festive projection, and Vörösmarty Classic Xmas will open on Friday with new light installations, numerous holiday programs, artisan and culinary exhibitors, capped food prices, and a 1,600-forint menu.
In their Tuesday statement sent to MTI, the organizers highlighted that the Christmas fairs serve as Budapest’s festive centers. They wrote that their goal is to make the holiday season unforgettable by offering quality experiences accessible to everyone, built on traditional Christmas values and a wide range of attractions.
The Advent Basilica, located at St. Stephen’s Square, welcomes visitors with a starry light canopy, a nearly 12-meter-tall Christmas tree, and a renewed highlight of the event—the light projection displayed on the façade of the Basilica.
Organizers will use upgraded, brighter projection technology and present a new light film about the 120-year history of St. Stephen’s Basilica. The light shows will run daily from 5:30 p.m., repeated every half hour.
The musical program will include choir performances. A new welcoming gate awaits visitors at the entrance, and a tunnel of lights will lead toward Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street. Within the fair area, new selfie spots will complement the multilingual selfie booth. Directional signs will help with navigation between food stalls, while uniform tableware and takeaway boxes will enhance the gastronomic experience.
The organizers emphasized that at Vörösmarty Square, the transparent “snow globe” protecting the Vörösmarty statue will once again be the central element, this year featuring a new light show illuminating the sculpture. The square’s lighting will also be renewed: in addition to decorative elements, the live Christmas tree will receive a unique light design, and each tree in the square will be adorned with its own light installation.
Visitors will be able to interact with motion-sensing, AI-generated animations displayed on the fair’s multimedia LED wall, which will also feature multilingual Vörösmarty quotations.
Padded seating will be installed around the statue’s marble base. New selfie spots, decorative signs, and fair-themed tableware will be available across the square, while the free miniature train will include a new stop named “Vörösmarty Square.”
At both venues, each main kitchen will offer at least one dish for a fixed price of 1,600 forints. Prices for certain popular foods—such as plain lángos, lángos with cheese and sour cream, stuffed cabbage, sausage with bread and mustard, and plain mulled wine—will be capped.
The fairs will also feature themed gastronomic weekends, where exhibitors will prepare dishes priced between 2,000 and 2,500 forints. Themes will include goose dishes, pork knuckle, fish, desserts, stews and goulash, stuffed cabbage, and meals cooked with alcohol. At the Advent Basilica, the events will close on January 1 with a traditional lentil day.
The atmosphere of the fairs will be enriched by craft exhibitors, folk artists, artisans, and modern designers offering unique, handmade creations.
At St. Stephen’s Square, visitors will once again find the Bethlehem nativity scene and a monumental Advent wreath, where festive candle lightings will take place on Sundays. Both fairs will also host charity initiatives during the season.
(MTI)
