The flower carriage of the Year of Families conveys the message that for the government families come first, and Hungary’s future rests on Hungarian children and on the responsible raising of children, the Minister of State for Family and Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Human Capacities said on Monday in Debrecen when she introduced the composition before the start of the carnival procession.

Katalin Novák highlighted that this is the first time that the Hungarian government is represented at the Debrecen flower carnival with a flower carriage of its own in the Year of Families.

The building blocks on the flower carriage are, on the one hand, familiar objects for children, but they also convey a message beyond their physical manifestation: building blocks are elements from which something is made, and Hungarian families are the fundamental building blocks of the Hungarian community and the Hungarian nation without which we could not be successful, Mrs Novák said introducing the flower composition.

After making reference to the benefits introduced in the Year of Families, the Minister of State pointed out that the essence of family policy is to ensure that it is good to live, study, work and raise children in Hungary. “This is also the case in Debrecen”, she added, highlighting that Debrecen is a family-friendly city and a city of young people.

According to Mrs Novák, Debrecen has every reason to be proud of the fact that the car manufacturer BMW is creating jobs in the city, thereby providing a decent living for those who will be working there.

It is at least equally important, however, that “in Debrecen everything is about young people (…), and when the city lives and celebrates together, it passes on the very idea which social policy itself is about: it is good to be together, living in a community is a value to be cherished”, Mrs Novák said.

Mayor László Papp (Fidesz-KDNP) highlighted at the improvised press conference which was held next to the Year of Families flower carriage that thousands – from the youngest children of 4 to 5 years all the way to adults – had prepared for the carnival for months.

In accordance with traditions, local residents with bicycles adorned with flowers opened the procession. Flower carriages and artistic groups started from the centre of Debrecen to Nagyerdő (local forest) after a procession of old-timer cars and motorcycles.

When the first carriage depicting the Holy Crown reached the Reformed Church Building, bishops of the Reformed Church, Roman Catholic Church and Greek Catholic Church blessed the new bread.

Among the 16 flower carriages 30 local and foreign artistic groups dance around the carnival procession to musical accompaniment. After the procession, the flower carriages and old-timers will be available for closer inspection at the northern event space of the Nagyerdő Stadium from early afternoon, while local and foreign musicians and dancers will provide for a great atmosphere.

In the evening the country’s biggest “arena show” entitled Carnival Night will be held in the Nagyerdő Stadium, featuring some two thousand artists, including the stars of the show The Song. The series of programmes marking the 20 August national holiday in Debrecen will end with fireworks and Attila Kökény’s concert.

(MTI)