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A View of Estonian Life |
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A View of Estonian Life |
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Happy holidays! After a long, mild, wet autumn, winter has finally arrived in Estonia. Temperature is below freezing most of the time, and we have a thin cover of snow and ice. We understand Kansas also received some major winter weather. Northern Europe in general has experienced an unusually wet fall. In England, there was more rain than any previous autumn of historical record--going back more than 200 years. At over 58 degrees north latitude in Tartu, our daylight is now not more than 7 hours--about 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. As we are just 8 degrees south of the Arctic Circle, it means the sun will rise only 8 degrees above the horizon at winter solstice. Actually "sunrise" is not the best way to describe the sun's path. It's more like a low arc that emerges above the horizon briefly. We notice that familiar constellations, such as Orion, are much lower in the sky, while the North Star is correspondingly higher. Although interesting to be at this latitude, we will be happy to get back to the longer, short days of winter in Kansas at 38 degrees north.
More on Estonian traditions. One of our son's friends prepared blood sausage and cranberries for us. This national dish was expertly prepared and quite a nice treat. During the holiday season, spiced fruit wines have appeared. These should be served hot, but not boiling. Otherwise, many imported foods, such as pizza and tacos, have become popular in recent years. Estonian clothing tastes can be described in one word--black--all black from head to toe. This is not the best for visibility at this time of year, so many people have small reflectors or carry a flashlight while walking outside. The all-black look is sometimes modified with a gray or purple sweater, tie or scarf. Politicians like to wear dark blue shirts--the national colors are blue, black, and white. Estonians were fascinated by our recent Presidential election and followed it closely. Whereas many Americans were upset, the people here found it amazing that our electoral process is so public. In the end, the U.S. election demonstrated the importance of voting and the importance of following a legal process in a peaceful manner.
From our observations, it appears that Scandinavia (incl. Estonia) is way ahead of the U.S. in terms of wireless communications and Internet capabilities. Estonians seem to never be without the cell phone. Before long, nearly all communication capabilities will be available via digital mobile phone, which will make the conventional Internet-computer obsolete for many users.
Estonians celebrate Christmas much as we do, except that Dec. 24th is considered "Christmas Day" while the 25th and 26th are merely Christmas holidays. The tradition of a public Christmas tree began in Tallinn six centuries ago to mark the winter solstice. A large tree was brought into town square, set up, and burned to create a huge bonfire. This tradition continues today, but without the burning. Large trees (50-60 feet tall) are erected in both Tallinn and Tartu town squares and decorated. Just about everything closes in Scandinavia during the week of Christmas-New Year. This has created some disruptions in our homeward travel, due to rescheduled ferry connections (Estonia to Sweden), closed hotels and offices, etc. The net result is that we leave Estonia on Dec. 24th for Sweden, and then depart Sweden for the U.S. on Dec. 28th. It will take several modes of transportation to get us from here to there, including car, ferry, and airplanes. The snow is pretty for the holidays but we are hoping for clear roads, waterways, and runways!
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