Christmas is a special holiday for so many people, including those in Estonia. Christmas begins for them with Advent.
They have many great Christmas traditions that truly shine in December. Estonias feel that Christmas is their favorite holiday and by far, their favorite time of year!
They celebrate the holiday from December 24 to December 26.
In Estonian, Merry Christmas is said “häid jõule” and Santa Claus is called “Jõuluvana”, which also means Old Yule.
Estonian Christmas traditions are a mix of many cultures and religions. They take older local traditions and mix them with some of the Christmas traditions of the western world.
This is a winning combination for them and it has been done for decades now.
In Estonia, they love to share their favorite foods for Christmas. When it comes to eating, they know exactly how to do it!
Xmas Food in Estonia
For Christmas, Estonians like to focus on verivorst, sült, hapukapsas, oven-roasted potatoes, and gingerbread cookies.
Blood sausage is very popular to serve around the holidays in Estonia and goes very well with jellied head cheese and sauerkraut.
Estonians will serve apples and mandarin oranges to their guests with the gingerbread cookies.
Not only do Estonians love to share their favorite foods at Christmas, but they also like sharing their traditions. In older traditions of Estonia, Christmas Eve has been characterized by fortune telling.
The people of Estonia would traditionally use the stars, winds, and cold weather to predict what would happen in the new year.
This tradition is still done in some homes and families will bundle up by the fire to see what predictions they have for the new year.
Celebrating Christmas in Estonia is a lot of fun and there is so much history to learn here.
In Estonian Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi’. It is interesting to know how people wish Happy or Merry Christmas in other languages.
Learn More With the Help of Video
Main Points About Christmas in Estonia
- With Christmas taking the top as the most important holiday in Estonia; it takes on a blend of religious, secular, modern and traditional festivity.
- A few days before Christmas, families come together to decorate their Christmas tree and prepare their Christmas feast.
- Estonian children are given gifts from December through to December 24. They get to open one present per day.
- Some of the food enjoyed on Christmas day include blood sausages, pork, sauerkraut, potatoes, meat in jelly, salad, tangerines, gingerbread cookies and so much more.
- On Christmas eve, many Estonians would traditionally bath in the sauna. Everyone would wear beautiful attires to look festive for the evening mass. After which is the Christmas dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Christmas in Estonia
Conclusion
Estonian children have their own version of a gift Advent Calendar – they put their sock by the window and every day until the 24th, a little elf will put a gift or some sweets in it.
Traditional food for Christmas is blood sausage, pork, and oats. Mulled wine is also popular, both with and without alcohol.
Santa comes to visits on the evening of Christmas Eve and will give presents in exchange for poems.
Word Cloud for Christmas in Estonia
The following is a collection of the most used terms in this article on Christmas in Estonia. This should help in recalling related terms as used in this article at a later stage for you.
