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.
