The ethnographic permanent exhibition of the Palóc Museum is based on the rich folk traditions in the region. Farming in Nógrád County had dropped behind the pace of the national development. The specific evolution of the historical and social conditions, the belated industrialisation, and topping it all off, the unfavourable natural factors limited the opportunities for local people. All this together contrib-uted to the fact that the way of life and the culture of the rural peasantry of the region changed slowly, retaining many archaic traits until the beginning of the 20th century.

The curators have chosen folk customs to evoke the peasant world and the message of the exhibition is arranged around the three great turning points of human life: birth, marriage and death. In the presentation of the life cycle, a custom, or a detail of a custom comes alive with the aid of the period ensembles of objects and the mannequins dressed in costumes suitable for the occasion.

The annual cycle of nature has provided a framework for the phases of agricultural work, often connecting certain ac-tivities with specific calendar dates. In addition to farming practices, the exhibition also presents the special occasions of the year, among which Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost festivities stand out. The exhibit spans the period of approxi-mately from the last third of the 19th century to the 1960s.