For three days only, from 28 - 30th September 2023, the annual light festival ÖÖvalgel will take place in Pärnu. It's the largest cultural event in Pärnu and is a festival of light theatre. Unlike other light festivals, Pärnu's light festival focuses on performance, where stories are told through light and video projections, with the main character always being a living person. ÖÖvalgel begins each night at 8pm and concludes at 11:30pm.
I am always so happy when I hear about Estonia performing well in global rankings. Once again Estonian students have excelled in PISA assessments, this time in reading performance. Estonian children benefit greatly from growing up in homes with lots of books. On average, a typical Estonian home has 218 books and 35% of Estonians own more than 350 books. Good literature is fantastic!
390 years ago today, on 24th September 1633, the printing house of the Tallinn Gymnasium was established. It was the second priniting house in Estonia, after the University of Tartu. The Tallinn printing house was founded by Swedish bookbinder Christoph Reusner who brought his printing equipment over from Stockholm. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries Reusuer's printing house was the most important printing house in Tallinn. It printed many literary works that were of great importance in the development of Estonian language and cultural history. The first translations of The New Testament and Bible into Estonian were printed at Reusner's printing house.
On the 22nd of September 1944, Estonia's resistance against the occupying Soviet forces and the fight for a free and democratic Estonia began. World War Two didn't really end for Estonians until 1991 when Estonia restored its independence. Today at sunrise students raised the Estonian flag atop of Pikk Hermann Tower to commemorate the day.
It's been a good summer this year, great for enjoying outdoor activities and leisure pursuits. Usually by now however, the weather starts to turn chilly in Estonia but today was a surprise when temperatures reached 24°C in Valga and Võru. Today was officially the warmest September 22 of all time in Estonia.
It's a phenomenon that happens every year in Estonia and once again the aurora borealis (virmalised in Estonian) didn't disappoint onlookers when it lit up the sky with a dazzling display of colour. It's a spectacular sight that I keep missing. One day I really want to see the northern lights with my own eyes!
