Christmas Customs in Estonia

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Christmas time is still the most important holiday celebrated in Estonia. For Estonians, Christmas is a mixture of the traditional, the modern, the secular, and the religious. Like in other Nordic states, Estonia's celebration of Christmas mostly falls on Christmas Eve, however, Christmas season starts from Advent with people buying Advent calendars or lighting Advent candles. Each year on December 24, the President of Estonia declares Christmas Peace, which is a 350-year-old tradition in Estonia.

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Folk traditions

In Estonian folk-tradition, Christmas has a double meaning: on the one hand, it is marking Christ's birth, on the other, it marks the whole period of mid-winter holidays. In Estonia, Christmas with its simple and pagan character of the festivities, the magic and mysticism combined with the sacred and spiritual. In the traditional folk calendar, Christmas tide began with St. Thomas's Day on December 21, and lasted until Epiphany on January 6. On the islands and on the coast, the holiday continued for another day until St. Canute's Day on January 7.
Christmas Holidays were celebrated between December 25 and 27, the most important event being the festive Christmas Eve on December 24. There were three culminations of the Christmas season in the Estonian folk-calendar:

• Christmas Eve (December 24), the First, the Second and the Third
• Christmas Holidays (December 25 to 27);
• New Year's Eve and New Year's Day
• Epiphany

The Estonian word jõulud (Christmas) is of ancient Scandinavian origin and comes directly from the word Jul and has no real connection with Christianity. It is interesting to note that Scandinavia, along with Estonia, form the only area in present Europe where the birthday of Jesus Christ is still marked by the pre-Christian word of jul - jõulud. Despite this, in some places in South Estonia, talvistepüha (winter holiday) is also used to mark the Christmas holidays and it is considered to be a direct influence from the neighbouring Latvia where Christmas is known as Ziemas svetki (winter fest).

For thousands of years, nations have celebrated winter and summer solstices, which in Estonian folk-tradition are known as Christmas and Midsummer Night (June 23/24). The word näärid, also used to mark winter holidays, is of German origin and was the only official seasonal holiday in the atheistic Soviet Union. To some extent, the words jõulud and näärid, marking the festive events of the turn of the year, had the same meaning.

Jõulud as the winter solstice, when the day is the shortest and the night the longest, is celebrated between December 21 and 25. According to folk-tradition, "the sun was laying in the nest" and the day was celebrated as the Sun's birthday. From that day on, the Sun started to rise and move slowly to the north again.

At the same time, Christmas was the culmination of the late autumn celebrations, which began with the harvest bees and continued with All Souls', St. Martin's and St. Catherine's Day celebrations. The connection with Jesus Christ, compared to the ancient local pagan Christmas traditions, is relatively recent and had not gained prominence until the last few centuries. At the same time, according to the local Christmas traditions, these celebrations, especially Christmas Eve, reflect everything connected with the habits and most necessary needs of the local peasantry.

The Christmas season, in connection with its special tasks and bans for different work, began on St. Thomas's Day (the first day of the winter solstice), following the three to four week preparation period. During winter, the peasantry had enough time to celebrate long holidays. Pigs were slaughtered and ale was brewed in preparation for St. Thomas's Day. Some activities like grindering in the mill, spinning, quilling, and horse-driving were banned because they were noisy and could disturb the good ghosts.

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Christmas Eve and Christmas Night were the most sacred times of the season, often characterised by fortune telling. With the help of the stars and the frost, the weather for the coming year was predicted. Christmas food had to remain on the table (as part of the cult of the ancestors) and the fire burning in the fireplace (probably as sun worship) for the whole night. It was believed that both good and bad forces were on the move on Christmas Night and that ancestors would visit the house. The next year's harvest was also predicted.

In terms of Christmas and New Year's Eve traditions, the habit of taking a bath in the sauna is a very old and important tradition. It was a custom to go to the sauna on Christmas Eve after preparing the house for the festive evening celebrations. Going to a steam bath was widespread all over the country and was similar to the same habit on Midsummer's Eve. The sauna was traditionally visited before the Christmas Eve service in the local village church. As the first Christmas surprise, the children were offered festive new clothes and shoes to dress in for the evening church service.


Christmas symbols

One of the most important and widespread Estonian peasant traditions, as in other Northern and Central European countries, was the habit of bringing home Christmas straw. Although connected with the biblical legend of Jesus Christ's birth-story, the tradition of Christmas straw might even be of pre-Christian pagan origin. In Estonia, straw (in South Estonia sometimes also hay) was taken to the house for the whole festive season. It became a playground for the children.

Besides bringing straw to the house, the tradition of making special Christmas crowns, imitating church chandeliers, was widespread among the Estonians and their neighbours. The habit came to Estonia probably from Western and Southern Finland and was at first popular mostly among the local Swedish-speaking population, especially on the island of Vormsi where the inhabitants maintained close contact with their kinsmen in Sweden and Finland. The tradition of making Christmas crowns and bringing straw into the house disappeared around the turn of the century and was replaced by other Christmas symbols. There was a revival of the old tradition in 1970s when it became very popular to make Christmas crowns again.

As compared to other Estonian Christmas symbols, the Christmas tree tradition is rather recent and came here from German culture in the middle of the 19th century. In towns, the habit of having a Christmas tree at home was adopted by Estonians from the local German population. The tradition was spread to the countryside by the local Baltic-German aristocracy. They organised special Christmas parties with presents for their servants and children in their manor-houses. Soon the habit of having Christmas trees in schools, churches and farmhouses (together with Christmas straw) became very popular. The Christmas tree was always an evergreen fir-tree and only in a few places, where there was lack of woods (e.g. on the island of Kihnu), the fir-tree was replaced by a pine. The Christmas tree was decorated in a simple manner with primitive small toys and sweets and later candles were lit on the tree. The tradition of Santa Claus bringing Christmas presents is also relatively new, but has become customary.


Christmas food

It was customary to eat large meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Night. To have plenty of Christmas food at home symbolically meant enough food for the whole coming year. According to an old tradition, seven to twelve different meals were served on Christmas Night. Traditional Estonian Christmas food was pork with sauerkraut, white and blood sausage. A special Christmas bread called Christmas barrow was baked. On the holy night, the domestic animals in the barn were also offered Christmas bread. Home-brewed ale and mead were the most popular Christmas drinks. The Christmas feast often differed between inland agricultural areas and fishing communities on the coast.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were traditionally domestic holidays. From December 26 on, relatives, friends and neighbours were visited. On the night of December 27, "Christmas was sent off." It was also popular to visit the local tavern and have fun on that day. The last days of the year till New Year's Eve were known as "half-holidays," when hard work was still avoided. People visited each other and mostly had fun.


Recent years

Christmas as an official holiday was banned during the Soviet occupation. The traditional Christmas season was limited to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations. Despite these restrictions, Christmas was celebrated unofficially, since a great number of Estonians participated in Christmas Eve church services. Attending the Christmas services was followed by the custom of lighting candles on the graves of relatives. This became a peaceful nation-wide protest against Soviet ideology and atheist propaganda in general. Christmas Day itself, an ordinary workday, was celebrated at home in private with family and close friends.
Due to the political changes in late 1980s, Christmas, the Christmas tree and Santa Claus regained public recognition. Some years later, after regaining independence, Christmas became an official religious holiday again. Some new, mainly Finnish and Scandinavian features have become obvious alongside ancient Estonian Christmas traditions. One of the most popular of them is the habit of celebrating pre-Christmas or little Christmas during the first weeks of December. Pre-Christmas with food and drinks, mostly with mulled wine, is celebrated among colleagues in offices and other work places.

Each year on December 24 the President of Estonia declares Christmas Peace and attends a Christmas service. Declaring a Christmas Peace is a 350-year-old tradition in Estonia. The tradition began in the seventeenth century by the order of Queen Kristina of Sweden.

Christmas in the Estonian Way

Did you know that ... Estonians live in Jõulumaa? The Estonian word jõulud (Christmas) is of ancient Scandinavian origin and comes from the word Jul. In Scandinavia and Estonia Jesus Christ's birthday is marked by the pre-Christian word Jul in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jol in Icelandic, Joulu in Finnish and Yule on the British Isles. So we can say that like Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic and British people, Estonians live in Jõulumaa. аjõulud was celebrated in Estonia also before Christianity and for old Estonians it lasted for 17 days? Old Estonians celebrated winter solstice - the birthday of the Sun. Starting from winter solstice, the days grew longer and the sun rose higher in the sky. Jõulud was celebrated from St. Thomas's Day (December 21) until Epiphany (January 6) long before Christianity reached the region. Jõulud, which involved excessive eating and prohibitions on several types of work, was seen as a period of rest in the middle of the long dark winter. Now Christmas is a mixture of the traditional, the modern, the secular, and the religious. Like in other Nordic states, Estonia's celebration of Christmas mostly falls on Christmas Eve, however, Christmas season starts from Advent with people buying Advent calendars or lighting Advent candles. the first public Christmas tree was placed on Town Hall Square in Estonia, Tallinn already in 1441? The tradition of bringing Christmas tree home was spread to the countryside in the 19th century by the local Baltic-German population. The Christmas tree has always been an evergreen firtree, except for a few places, where because of lack of woods, pine was used instead. The first Christmas tree decorations were toys, sweets and later candles. why on Christmas Eve, people had to eat for 7, 9, or even 12 times? These were magic numbers and the excessive eating would make sure that the next year would be rich in food. If men ate seven times during Christmas night, they were supposed to have the strength of seven men the following year. why Christmas food had to remain on the table for the whole night? It was believed that ancestors and spirits would visit the house on Christmas Night as well as on New Year's Eve and Epiphany.   jõulud has always been a family holiday? Jõulud is considered to be silent time. In the old times, no guests were allowed to come on the first day of the holiday. Moreover, if the guest was a woman, it was seen as a bad omen. The same belief was about the New Year's Eve. For Christians, the 24 and 25 December was holy time - people stayed at home, read the Bible and sang chorales. Näärid, or the festive events of the turn of the year, were a joyous holiday in both traditions. old Estonians brewed hundreds of litres of beer per household? Christmas was also called beer holidays and the beer or mead brewed on St. Thomas's day had to last until Epiphany. Brewing the ale was men's work, and it had to be started in the middle of the night so that an evil eye would not ruin the important act.   for 350 years, Christmas Peace has been declared in Estonia? Each year on December 24, the President of Estonia declares Christmas Peace and attends a Christmas service. The tradition was initiated by the order of Queen Kristina of Sweden in the 17th century.   Traditional Estonian Christmas food is pork with sauerkraut or Estonian sauerkraut (mulgikapsad), baked potatoes and swedes with hog's head, white and blood sausage, and brawn, also potato salad with red beet and pāté are eaten. From desserts gingerbread and marzipan among others are very popular. The most highly regarded drinks during this holiday have been beer or mead, but today also mulled wine has become a popular drink. If you wish to celebrate Christmas the Estonian way, try some traditional Estonian recipes. Liver pāté ╖а 500 g calf's liver ╖а 200 g bacon ╖а 2 onions ╖а 2 carrots ╖а pepper, nutmeg ╖а 1 gl water ╖а 100 g butter ╖а sugar ╖а cognac, brandy or rum Cut bacon and fry it with sliced vegetables. Add sliced liver and brown the mixture. Add seasoning and water and boil until all the ingredients are soft. Grind the mixture with a mincing machine. Add butter and whipthe mixture.аPut the mixture into bowls and store it in a cold place.   Potato salad with red beet ╖а 700 g cooked beet ╖а 400 g cooked potatoes ╖а 200 g cooked carrots ╖а 1 medium salted herring (kipper can do) ╖а 1 - 2 pickled cucumbers ╖а 2 apples ╖а 200 g roast pork or cooked beef ╖а 2 - 3 hard-boiled eggs ╖а 6 dl sour cream ╖а salt according to taste ╖а ½ tsp mustard ╖а a little sugar ╖а spring onions to garnish Makes salad for 10 - 12 persons. This salad contains lots of cooked red beet, the sweet taste of which goes well with salt herring and pickled cucumber. Peel the potatoes, carrots and beets, and core and peel the apples. Fillet the herring, removing the skin and even the smallest bones. Cut everything (except eggs) into tiny cubes. Stir sour cream, mustard, salt and sugar together to make a sauce. Mix all the ingredients with the sauce, leave covered in the fridge for an hour or two, and take out about one hour before serving. Put a nice heap of salad in a dish or a bowl, cover the surface with finely chopped eggs,egg slices or segments, and decorate with chopped spring onion.   Brawn ╖а 2 - 2.5 kg leg of pork or veal with bones and skin (trotters can be included) ╖а 1 yellow onion with skin (for colour), chopped ╖а 1 carrot, chopped ╖а 8 - 10 peppercorns ╖а 6 kernels of allspice ╖а 1 bay leaf ╖а salt Rinse the meat and place in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil and boil fiercely for 1-2 minutes; pour away the water, rinse the meat and the pan, removing all scum. Pour clean boiling water over the meat and simmer gently over a low heat without the lid until meat comes off the bones (3 - 4 hrs). Do not let it boil too rapidly, or the brawn will be cloudy. Skim the fat as it rises to the surface, adding more boiling water if necessary. Add the carrot and onion after an hour or two, the spices and 2-3 tsp of salt for the last 10 minutes. Remove the meat, cool, and cut it into small pieces. Strain the broth, place the meat and broth in the pot, and add a substantial amount of salt because cooling reduces the taste. Bring to boil once, leave to cool for a few minutes, then place it in moulds or small bowls, previously rinsed with cold water. Cover the set brawn with clingfilm or foil and leave in a cool place. Brawn can be equally well served on a dinner table with hot potatoes, and in a cold buffet. In both cases, either mustard, mild vinegar or pickled horseradish is used for seasoning.   Blood sausage ╖а 1250 g barley grouts ╖а 750 g meat (bacon) ╖а 200 g onions ╖а salt, pepper ╖а marjoram, oregano, caraway ╖а ½ l blood ╖а about 10 metres intestines Put washed grouts into hot salted water and boil to half-soft. Cut bacon into little pieces and fry it with sliced onion until they are light yellow, add to the grouts and boil until the mixture is soft. Let the mixture cool and add blood and seasoning. Fill the intestines with the mixture but not hard because blood and grouts swell when the sausages boil. Tie the ends of the sausages with soft string. Put the sausages into lukewarm water and boil them slowly for about 30 minutes. Cool the ready sausages quickly down and keep them in a cold place. Bake or fry before serving. Before frying, put the sausages into warm water. Serve with fried bacon, cowberry or cranberry jam or pumpkin salad. An older tradition of Estonians was to make white sausage; later blood sausage became popular. White sausage has the same ingredients, except for blood.   Estonian sauerkraut (mulgikapsad) ╖а 1 kg sauerkraut ╖а ½ gl barley grouts ╖а 400-500 g bacon ╖а 1 - 2 onions ╖а salt, sugar ╖а water Put the sauerkraut in a saucepan with pearl barley and meat. Cover it with water and stew it under the lid. It is important to see that the water does not boil off. Add salt and sugar. Cut the onions into little cubes and fry them with little fat or oil. Add them to the sauerkraut. Serve Estonian sauerkraut with boiled potatoes and pork.   Griddle-bread ╖а ¼ l sour milk ╖а 1 egg ╖а 1 tsp salt ╖а 1 tsp sugar ╖а 2 tbsp oil or fat ╖а 1 tsp caraway seeds ╖а ½ gl barley meal ╖а ¾ gl wheat flour (middling) ╖а ½ tsp baking soda Mix egg with salt and sugar, add sour milk, melted fat, caraway seeds and meal mixed with baking soda. Knead the mixture into light and tender dough. Put the mixture in a buttered cake tin and bake. Serve with butter, honey or cowberry jam.   Gingerbread ╖а 250 g treacle or honey ╖а 100 g sugar ╖а 50 g butter ╖а some salt ╖а 2 tsp gingerbread spices (cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg) ╖а 1 egg ╖а 300 - 500 g flour ╖а 2 tsp baking powder Bring the treacle, sugar, and butter to boil, stir constantly. Add the spices and cool it by whipping. Add whisked egg and flour mixed with baking powder. Knead the mixture into solid dough. Keep it in a cool place. Roll the dough. Butter the baking sheet, mould cakes and put them on the sheet. Bake. Decorate after cooling if you wish.   Marzipan ╖а 150 g almonds ╖а 1 egg white ╖а 150 g powdered sugar According to a legend, marzipan was accidentally created at Raeapteek, a pharmacy in Tallinn, and named MartinТs Bread. Now this sweet is produced by Kalev Confectionery. Blanch and dry the almonds, then crush them as fine as possible. Combine the almonds with the egg white and mix into a uniform paste while gradually adding the sugar. Knead the mix until it attains a consistent elasticity. Form the dough into decorations for cakes or sweets.   Beer Beer was made of rye, barley, wheat and oats as well. Rye malt was undoubtedly the most widespread beer ingredient.