Christmas in Estonia

Like many Catholics, Estonians attend church services, observe the Advent season, and decorate the Christmas tree, but some of their traditions have pagan roots.

For Estonians, Christmas is a peaceful, quiet holiday. If you go to Tallinn’s central square on December 24 evening, you’re unlikely to encounter any locals because they prefer to celebrate at home in a small family circle.

However, the time leading to Christmas is filled with fun events, Christmas market shopping, winter sports, and friend gatherings.

Estonian Christmas Decorations

Christmas decorations in Estonia are very much like in the rest of Europe, but with a touch of Scandinavian eco-design. Estonians decorate their homes with fairy lights, Advent wreaths, and garlands, preferring natural materials to plastic.

For Estonians, decoration quantity isn’t as important as their quality and look. Seeing a house adorned with colorful Christmas lights from the bottom to the roof in Estonia is rare – most people keep it simple, focusing on interior decoration.

Natural evergreen branches, berries, real pinecones, and moss are the most popular materials for Estonian Christmas adornments, which isn’t surprising considering that over half of the country’s territory is covered in forests.

Straw is another common material in Estonian decorations, used to make himmeli – traditional in Scandinavia and the Baltic states geometric hanging ornaments.

The practice of making himmeli stems from pagan times, when people would hang them during winter solstice festival celebrations and leave them until midsummer.

Nativity scenes in Estonia aren’t as widespread as in central and southern European countries. Families that display nativity scenes in their homes buy one at local Christmas markets rather than make it themselves.

Under the Scandinavian influence, many Estonians hang paper star lanterns with elaborate cut-outs in their windows, and candle bridges can be found in every home.

Estonians love to mix tradition with technology, so Tallinn’s Town Hall Square typically features a gigantic Santa hologram.

Straw For Christmas Crowns

In Estonia, straw is used not solely to make himmeli but also for Christmas crowns.

Locals, particularly in rural areas, bring heaps of straw or hay to their homes in early December to make traditional crowns to wear on Christmas Eve.

Winter Solstice

People in nearly every country worldwide used to celebrate the winter solstice before the arrival of Christianity but stopped this practice under the influence of the Catholic church. Estonians are an exception, though.

To this day, Estonians celebrate the longest night of the year on December 22. In ancient times, people marked winter solstice by burning an evergreen tree, which symbolized eternal life and fertility.

Nowadays, buying two Christmas trees only to burn one would be odd. Instead, people make fires, go to restaurants or gather with family and friends at home, explore forests and hiking trails, or go to the sauna to power their spirits.

Interestingly, Estonians claim to be the inventors of the Christmas tree tradition because of their old pagan custom of burning an evergreen tree on winter solstice night.

According to Estonians, when Tallinn joined the Hanseatic League in the 13th century, German merchants witnessed this old tradition and adopted it for Christmas celebrations, but instead of burning the tree, they decorated it.

Christmas Tree in Estonia

The debate about who decorated the first Christmas tree is never-ending in Estonia, Latvia, and Germany. Latvians claim that men of the local merchants’ guild put up the first Christmas tree with candles and artificial roses in 1510.

However, according to Estonians, they did it almost 70 years earlier than their neighbors, in 1441. The first records of Christmas trees in Germany are from the 16th century, and the trees weren’t real firs but wooden pyramids decorated with evergreen branches.

Historians can’t come to a consensus, but frankly, who put up the first Christmas tree doesn’t matter – the legend brings thousands of tourists to Tallinn annually regardless of whether it’s true or not.

Tallinn’s largest Christmas tree is put up every year on the Town Hall Square, where the allegedly first Christmas tree in the world stood.

Estonia’s largest straw himmeli-style Christmas tree stands in the Tallinn Tourist Information Centre. Other notable Christmas trees in Estonia are in Tallinn’s Noblessner seafront quarter, in Saint Nicholas’ Church, and the Fat Margaret Visitor Centre in Tallinn Old Town.

Estonian Christmas Dishes

Estonian Christmas food is a blend of Scandinavian, German, Slavic, and Baltic dishes with a hint of local peculiarities. Families gather on Christmas Eve afternoon to cook because no one can make so many dishes alone.

Estonia has long, dark, cold winters, and the climate has influenced local cuisine. Winter dishes tend to be savory, fat, and heavy, based on meat and less often fish.

Spicy sandwiches with rye bread, sardines, eggs, and onions are the traditional appetizer in Estonia. Many people serve deviled eggs and stuffed mushrooms.

Pea soup with onions, garlic, and smoked pork is eaten in Estonia throughout the entire winter because of how filling and warming it is. Another Estonian winter dish often served for Christmas is meat jelly.

The traditional Estonian Christmas main entrée is roast pork with sauerkraut, topped with mustard, lingonberry jam, and beetroot. Blood sausage is also common, typically eaten with mashed potato on the side.

In Estonian restaurants, you can try wild boar served with candied apples, boiled potatoes, and red cabbage. Buckwheat is a popular side dish year-round in Estonia and is often made for Christmas with some veggies and sauces.

Potato salad is a common appetizer and side dish, made with boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, and cucumbers mixed with mayo. The recipe is simple, but the salad is delicious and goes well with everything.

Another traditional Estonian salad is rosolje, made with beetroots, potatoes, herring, and pickles with sour cream or mayo. Mulgipuder is one of the oldest Estonian recipes – barley is mixed with mashed potatoes, milk, and meat.

For dessert, Estonians commonly eat thin, crisp gingerbread, like one eaten in Finland, or kissel – a viscous berry mass often topped with fruits. Fruitcakes aren’t particularly common in Estonia, but there’s Kringel – round pastry with cardamom, saffron, and sultanas.

As for drinks, Estonians believe that nothing tastes better on a cold winter day than mulled wine. Some locals also drink beer or snaps.

Estonian Advent Traditions

The Christmas season in Estonia officially begins on the first Advent. Every Sunday throughout the four weeks leading to Christmas, Estonians light a candle in a traditional Advent wreath made from evergreen branches to commemorate Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

Every candle in the Advent wreath has a special meaning – hope, faith, joy, and peace. Some people light the fifth candle on Christmas Eve, symbolizing Christ himself.

Estonian kids look forward to the Advent season to get Advent calendars from their parents. These calendars have 24 treats or small gifts hidden behind paper doors, one for each day of the Christmas season, counting with December 1.

Some children hang stockings on the window ledge to get a small present from a Christmas elf every day until Christmas Eve – that’s a lovely alternative to commercially made Advent calendars.

Christmas Peace

Estonians value the time they can spend with family on Christmas and rarely go out with friends. Most shops, restaurants, and other public places are closed from December 24 afternoon until December 26.

The celebrations are relatively quiet because everyone spends time at home with their loved ones. On Christmas Eve night, the streets of Estonian towns are empty, and only a few people gather in the central city squares.

Gift Exchange & Estonian Santa

Like most Catholics, Estonians exchange gifts for Christmas. Estonian Santa Claus goes under the name Jõuluvana or Old Yule, drawing links with the pagan winter solstice festival Yuletide.

Like American Santa, Estonian Santa is an old man with a white beard dressed in a red suit, but that’s where the similarities end.

Instead of slipping down the chimney at night, Estonian Santa knocks on the front door and hands out presents to children who sing or dance for him. He prefers beer and marinated herring on rye bread to cookies and milk.

However, the image of Old Yule becomes more and more blended with western Santa Claus. Nowadays, many children put their shoes on windowsills on December 24 to receive gifts from Santa instead of learning a song for Old Yule.

Christmas Markets

Christmas in Estonia wouldn’t be as magical without Christmas markets, attracting locals and tourists with cozy lit-up wooden chalets, spiced mulled wine, gingerbread, and a festive atmosphere.

The largest and oldest Christmas market in Estonia is held in Tallinn Town Hall Square, near the largest Christmas tree in the country, which was allegedly the first in the world.

In 2019, Tallinn’s Christmas market was voted one of the best Christmas markets in Europe, so it’s certainly worth a visit.

Tartu Christmas market isn’t as large but equally merry, offering an array of activities for every preference and a wide selection of handmade goods.