A new year is soon upon us!

It's the last day of the year. How will you spend it? 2023 was a turbulent year for many, may 2024 bring peace, joy and happiness.

 

Tallinn 1900 vs. 2023

One more Estonian born into the world

My sister rang me at 5am yesterday to announce she had just given birth to her eight child. EIGTH CHILD! I honestly thought she was planning to stop at six but then the seventh arrived and now there's eight. My family has really grown during the past ten years and there's another on the way. My brother will be a father for the first time in February and my other brother is engaged and will start his family in the near future.

It is quite unusual for a woman to have so many children these days and despite the high cost of living and growing inflation, it didn't dissuade my sister from having a large family. She now has the perfect balance of children, four boys and four girls. All the girls' names begin with the letter 'L' and all the boys (apart from the eldest) start with the letter 'J'. I am thrilled to welcome the new little bundle of joy into our family and looking forward to meeting him when I next visit Australia.

In Estonia there are 125 mothers with 10 or more children. In 2022 the Aan family from South Estonia won the European Large Family of the Year Award. This was the first time Estonia has ever won this award.

Estonian birth statistics

The current fertility rate in Estonia is 1.41.
Estonian women have 2.0 children on average, compared to 1.63 children among the ethnic Russian population.
The average age of a woman at birth of first child is 28.6 years
In 2022 there were 6,014 boys and 4,632 girls born in Estonia
This includes 168 twins and 3 triplets
The most popular baby names are- Olivia, Saara, Sofia, Eliise and Mia. Sebastian, Adrian, Gustav, Rasmus, David, Hugo and Karl.

Tammsaare's "Elu ja Armastus" / "Life & Love" to be released in cinemas on Valentine's Day

 

For the first time, A.H. Tammsaare's "Life and Love" has been produced into a full-length feature film. Elu ja Armastus / Life & Love is the tale of an unexpected love story of two iconic figures known from Estonian literature, Irma and Rudolf. The action of the film takes place at a pivotal period when the young Estonian Republic, crippled by growing well-being, has to deal with the shaking challenges of a changing world. The film gives a fresh perspective to timeless topics, creating surprising parallels with the modern world.

What Christmas looked like in Estonian homes during the last century

Here is an interesting article recently published by Delfi. I find the old interiors of people's really fascinating. You can view them here - Millised nägid välja pühadeaegsed kodud eelmisel sajandil

Häid jõule! Merry Christmas!

5 Estonian Christmas Traditions

Christmas (Jõulud) is traditionally celebrated in Estonia between December 21 and the Epiphany on January 6. In modern day Estonia, December 24-26 are celebrated as national holidays. Christmas Eve is the most important day on the Estonian calendar so we all have a busy day ahead of us!

Estonia has many Christmas traditions, here are five of them.

1. Tradtionally houses were cleaned thoroughly on December 21 in preparation of the Christmas feast which was the richest meal of the year. Straw was brought into the house as it was considered a blessing of good health. Estonians honour their deceased relatives at Christmas time so straw, food and drinks were tradtionally left out for the spirits who came to visit at night.

2. In old times it was very popular to brew your own beer at Christmas time and today some brewers still release a special Christmas beer.

3. The Christmas feast is the highlight of the day. Pork, verivorst, fish, potatoes, cabbage and bread are the staples on the table. Pirukas and rosolje are also very popular. When it comes to baking, Estonians enjoy eating piparkoogid, apples cakes or cinnamon kringle at Christmas time.

4. The declaration of Christmas peace is a  tradition that dates back to the 17th century, during the reign of Queen Kristina of Sweden. Today, the Mayors of Tallinn and Tartu continue this tradition, using the words from Queen Kristina's original speech.

5. Unlike other countries, children in Estonia actually meet Santa when he comes to visit on Christmas Eve. But before but they receive his gift, the child must sing a song or recite a poem. The gift must be earned.

Christmas joy with a hint of sadness

I love Christmas time. It has always given me great pleasure to decorate my home each year, buy nice gfts and cook up a feast. I come from a large family so our Christmas celebrations are usually filled with lots of joy and laughter. It has been a few years now since my family have been all together for Christmas. Some members of my family have moved away and some have passed away. Christmas can be tough when you miss the people you love. This year will be the fifth Christmas without my mother. I often feel bouts of sadness knowing she's not here anymore. Every year since her death I started the tradition of always putting out the last Christmas card she send me with the new cards. This is my way of including her during the festive season.