Bright colors bring joy to our lives. In contrast, greyness can cause depression. Residents of southern countries have much more vitality and depression is an almost unknown concept to them.
Unfortunately, winter depression is typical here in Hungary, because people are unable or simply do not want to change it. Fortunately, I am an exception because I surround myself with many colors at home. Even before many flowers bloom in the gardens, gloomy multicolored primroses appear in flower shops. When I see them, I smile unintentionally. If they became human, they would be loud, laugh a lot, joke with us and invite us to a wild dance, to ancient gypsy melodies and rhythms. They would evoke our deepest instincts for life, mixed with a lot of emotion. They drive away greyness, apathy, depression with their sharp, slightly hoarse voices. For them, only the present exists, they are unaware of the brevity of their lives, the transience of their beauty.
Related to this, I went to the holy place of pilgrimage of the gypsies, Csatka, during a full moon, to fill my bottles with healing spring water. This small sack village is located in the northeastern part of the Bakony, surrounded by forest and pastures. Although it is not typical for Gypsies to live in Csatka, once a year a large festival is held at the shrine and on the nearby hills. There are many Virgin Mary worshipers throughout the year who visit this place and they can be frequently seen in the chapel praying. The special feature of the large statue of Mary above the altar is that it has at least 150 ornate dresses sewn by gypsy women from expensive fabrics.
Unfortunately, the photos don’t give back much color and glitter. Many find this abundance tasteless and reject it. I accept that there is another, different culture in the country in parallel, which is not to be feared, rather get to know. Unfortunately, the ancestry can only be discovered in traces, because the nomadic tribal way of life of the gypsies has ceased and many have become criminals. Fortunately, Catholic religion is a cohesive force for them, it fits well with their ancient faith (this is the religious syncretism that can be found all over the world, for example in Mexico or Africa) and gives them a moral stance that will keep them from sinning.
