The second month of the year was called Böjtelő (the Pre-Fasting Month) by the ancients, as the beginning of Lent usually falls on this month. In the liturgic year, the carnival begins on January 6, at Epiphany, and ends with Ash Wednesday. In folk tradition, however, the carnival took place on the last three days of the carnival season: Carnival Sunday, Carnival Monday, and Carnival Tuesday. This was the "tail of the carnival season" the period of endless partying. The carnival was a tradition in all villages of the Rye Island, the revelry started on Sunday afternoon and only ended at midnight on Tuesday. At that time, even the bells rang to signal the beginning of the fourty-day fast. Tuesday was also called Shrove Tuesday, as after this date no meat was on the plate until Easter. In several villages (e.g. Tejfalu, Tárnok, Nagyszarva) the imitating game called Dőre walking is still a living tradition. The streets of the village are then walked by a special wedding procession: since the participants in the march could only be men, the role of the bride is also played by a man. The procession is led by the best man, followed by the young couple with the wedding crowd and musicians. The procession is joined by imitators of various craftsmen, such as a tinsmith, barber or butcher. A bear dancer and a log-puller are also regular figures having fun with the young couple. The procession goes from house to house, and if they are admitted, they are served: ham, eggs, sausages, wine are added to the basket of the Dőres. Once they walk around the village, they march to a central location where they burn the straw hut symbolizing winter and the carnival season. Until the Resurrection ceremony on Holy Saturday, the people of Rye Island strictly kept the Lent regulations. They ate neither meat nor fatty foods, and in this time of the year they cooked in so-called fasting pots. A widespread and popular fasting dish in the area is named kőtés, for which wheat was germinated, ground, and washed several times. It was thickened with a touch of flour, reeds were stabbed in it and then it was baked. The day after Ash Wednesday was called Greedy Thursday, when fasting was paused to consume the carnival remnants.


Weather-related observations are also associated with the holidays in February.


February 2 is Gyertyaszentelő Boldogasszony (Candlemass Day of Mary in the Catholic calendar), when believers take part in a procession with consecrated, burning candles. In many villages on Rye Island, in the event of a storm and lightning, the candles consecrated on that day were lit to chase the storm away, and the breadbaking shovel and axe were thrown into the yard during the greatest lightning strikes.


On February 22, there is a celebration of the apostle St.Peter’s Chair at Antioch, and the people of Rye Island believed that the grain sown that day would be subject to mildew.


February 24 is the feast of Jégtörő Mátyás (St. Matthias „the icebreaker”). The saying for this day shares that Matthias makes ice if he doesn’t find it. So if the snow and ice melts on Matthias' day, frost will return.

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