Häid Jõule

Häid Jõule - Merry Christmas

Estonian Christmas is celebrated a little differently from those of other cultures and religions. It is customary to eat large meals on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Night. I remember growing up in Toronto, our family would have our dinner on Christmas eve and then on Christmas night, we'd have our extended family over for another meal. The traditional Estonian Christmas dinner is comprised of pork with sauerkraut (see picture below), boiled potatoes, white and blood sausages (see picture), Suilti (boiled pork in jelly), herring in sour cream and green onions. Of course the bread is the dark rye. And the alcohol - vodka, beer, wine, liquer, etc..

Here in Estonia on the holy night, the domestic animals in the barn were also offered Christmas bread. In fact, one student told me that the animals were allowed in the house during Christmas! Think about that, the next time your cleaning up after a family Christmas. 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. Tradition dictates here in Estonia that 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.

During Soviet times, celebrating Christmas was not allowed as all religion was deemed illegal. That didn't stop many families from still enjoying Christmas in the privacy of their homes. I've been told by my students that those who dared to go to church during Christmas, their names were taken down by soviet officals watching outside. Not sure what repercussions were felt by those who dared to go. Also, it should be noted that Estonians have traditionally never been very religious. This is due to the sad history of the country and the constant invasions of other nations throughout the ages like Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Russians. In fact, Estonia has only been independent twice in their existance - today (since 1993) and the era between 1920 to 1932. For more information on the Estonian history and various occupations, see http://www.ibs.ee/ibs/history/brief/

Christmas presents are opened on Christmas eve and not on Christmas morning. This follows the Lutheran religion as most Estonians are. In Tallinn, children think Santa Claus lives in Finland or Lapland and not the North Pole, as North Americans kids think. Santa's sleigh is not pulled by reindeer, rather horses. There is no Rudolph here. BTW - there is no eggnog here either, which is too bad, because I live for this stuff.

Christmas in Tallinn is quite nice as the square is fill with these stalls selling Christmas crafts and clothing. As a staple in Estonia, there is lot of singing as you hear music everywhere. It seems that nearly eveyone here in part of a choir of some sort. At the tail end of the occupation, the change here in Estonia was marked by "The Singing Revolution" as Estonians have had a proud history of songs and performance. I know this from my childhood because I still have memories of my dad singing with his Estonian friends up at the cottage late into the night. And this were quite loud!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I hope we all have a healthy and happy New Years... And in the spirit of John Lennon, let us hope that a year from now, we have more peace and love in this world of ours.

May you all find what you're looking for in 2006.

Häid Jõule !