Christmas address by Dr Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary, to the Hungarian nation
Dear Fellow Hungarians, in the Carpathian Basin and across the world!
I warmly greet you on the second day of the Christmas celebrations.
Many of us have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of these days when everything around us slows down and becomes quiet. When, even in our fast-paced world full of tensions and the horrors of war, at last, it is peace, home, and family that take the spotlight, and the moment arrives to celebrate the birth of the Saviour who came into our world over two thousand years ago.
On this holiday, which reveals the essence of our humanity, I would like to share a few thoughts with you. I hope they will help us reaffirm what an irreplaceable treasure it is to belong to communities where we feel at home — whether family, friends, professional, leisure, or other communities — that together make up our nation.
This is complemented by our Hungarian identity, through which we experience in our daily lives that, although we live in a single homeland in countless diverse communities, we are all united and able to give so much to one another.
Whether we live in the capital, in the countryside, or within or beyond our national borders, we are one as Hungarians.
In the light of Christmas, the importance of togetherness and the depth of human relationships become even more apparent.
Throughout the year, we experience time and time again that belonging to our communities is a good thing, that sharing in the joy of the community is an unparalleled experience, and that in our personal difficulties, the solidarity of the community can provide comfort. That we can build on what we receive, and also on what we give when we help others.
With an open and lively spirit, we will perceive everything in a brighter light—our surroundings, our family, our fellow students and colleagues, and our nation. We will also find it easier to be patient with those who make our days more challenging.
Because we can only determine our future to a limited extent, but we can always decide whether to focus our attention on the good, the beautiful, and the peaceful in the world around us, or on the opposite.
Everyone is personally responsible for this decision.
Hungary and the whole world are full of wonderful people, or more precisely, people whose actions and attitudes make them true role models. Over the past year, many people have visited Sándor Palace, and I myself have travelled extensively both within Hungary and abroad, from school inauguration ceremonies to family visits. On countless occasions, I have witnessed the selfless dedication of Hungarian people to their families, to those entrusted to their care, and to their fellow citizens.
It is encouraging to look up to all those who serve their fellow human beings and their communities with their talents and hard work, thus contributing more and more to the prosperity and spiritual renewal of their communities and the nation.
We owe a debt of gratitude to our service members and police officers, who protect our homeland and our legal system, and to our judges, prosecutors, lawyers and the entire legal profession, who uphold the rule of law.
We owe our gratitude to the doctors, health and social workers who watch over the physical and spiritual health of our communities, and likewise to the responsible teachers and educators of our children, because our children are the future of our families and our nation.
We can look with great respect upon our scientists and researchers, those who serve in the fields of science and intellectual life, including the many award winners this year, such as our Nobel Prize winner, author László Krasznahorkai, and many other award winners, as well as all those who work quietly, far from the applause of recognition.
We can all take pride in Tibor Kapu’s remarkable achievements. Our ongoing sports successes continue to bring us joy. Our artists, folk craftsmen, and preservers of tradition create enduring value, both at home and abroad.
In the autumn, I awarded the Medal of Merit of the President of Hungary to a Greek and a Spanish citizen who rescued an exhausted Hungarian tourist and his daughter from the sea as they drifted into the hopeless distance.
This case also shows that we can rely on the help of even strangers, that goodness, beauty, and peace dwell within every human being, and that anyone can seek them if they are able to recognize the miracle of creation in their daily lives, in others, and in themselves.
The miracle that Christmas has proclaimed for more than two thousand years is that goodness was born among us to endure forever.
So we have something to draw on. The opportunity to focus our attention on life is there for all of us.
Let us respect the image of God, i.e. the human being, in each other, let us love our homes and our comforting communities, our often diminished but never broken nation, our beautiful and wonderfully diverse Hungarian homeland, our most sacred and precious heritage!
I wish all my fellow compatriots a blessed holiday season!
Budapest, 26 December 2025 (Friday)