This week, we celebrate the 11th year of the Week of Marriage. A variety of programs and festivities are taking place every day this week, all over the world, in celebration and encouragement of marriage and family. These celebrations are a reminder to take a moment from our busy lives to remind our lovers and family members how much we love them.
From 11 to 18 February 2018, we celebrate the Week of Marriage. Marriage is recognized and uniquely valued in all cultures and nations. It involves a private commitment and a public declaration before witnesses to a relationship. The Week of Marriage is an international initiative encouraging and promoting marriage. The Week began in the United Kingdom in 1997, and was adopted in Hungary in 2008. Currently, the Week is celebrated in 23 countries around the world. The goal of the Week is to draw attention on the importance of the values of marriage and family. Marriage Week International is for everyone, for those in a loving, stable relationship to become an encouragement to the others around them, for those who are struggling in their relationship, to take the time to work it out and find encouragement from others, and even for those who are not yet married to witness the love and faith of a married couple. The aim of the week is to celebrate the contribution of marriage towards a secure society. According to the official website of Marriage Week International, marriage “provides the most beneficial environment in which to conceive and raise children.”
The Broken but Repaired Mug - Interview with an ecumenical couple: A seemingly ordinary couple, but there is something extraordinary about them. They both belong to two different realms: natural sciences and theology. The guests of the ‘Faces of Reformation’ series were Tamás Kodácsy and his wife, Eszter Kodácsy-Simon.
This year, on Sunday, 11 February, the Bishop of the Transdanubian Reformed Church District, József Steinbach, led the opening service at the Reformed Church of János Kálvin Park in Veszprém. The celebrations continued on Monday at Aranytíz Kultúrház (Golden Ten Cultural Center) with a quiz about marriage. Tuesday, at Eötvös Loránd University, the law school faculty held a discourse about marriage, and on Wednesday, the Zoltán Kodály Hungarian Chore School Laudate joined the benediction and service at the Lutheran church in Deák Square. On Thursday, the Three Princes and Three Princesses movement organized a conference at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The festivities will end on Friday after a film and discussion session, and the closing holy mass at the Main Parish Church of the Assumption in the center of Budapest led by military chaplain and head of the Family Committee of the Episcopal Conference of Hungary, László Bíró. The faces of this year’s Week of Marriage are actor Soma Zámbori and his wife, Rita Fazekas.
This year’s celebrations are especially memorable because the Hungarian government announced in the beginning of January, that 2018 will be the Year of the Family, dedicated to the young people who represent the future of Hungary. In practical terms, the Year of the Family means tangible support to families, translating into greater confidence among Hungarians to pursue family plans, including marriage.
To read more about the celebration, we encourage you to read our previous articles as well
- Marriage Week Turns 10 in Hungary
- Love: Passion and Decision
- Marriage summed up in six points
- A Week to Celebrate Marriage
Priscilla Yang