Don't unpack yet - we're travelling to ESTONIA !

Don't unpack yet - we're travelling to ESTONIA !

ESTONIA in Northern Europe is a country on the eastern coast of the Baltic sea. While there has been a long time push from within Estonia to define themselves as a Nordic country, other Nordic nations (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, etc) do not consider Estonia to be a Nordic nation.

Nevertheless, the Nordic influence is easy to see in this wooden Nativity that is handmade in Estonia.

Nativity Scene from Estonia

While many Christmas customs in Estonia are similar to those in the U.S., there is one Estonian custom in particular we think we could really embrace - the custom of going to a sauna on Christmas Eve !  Going to a steam bath on Christmas Eve after preparing the house for the festive evening celebrations, before attending Christmas Eve church services seems like a most wonderful way to prepare for the Christmas Celebration !

Another important and interesting tradition is that of bringing home Christmas straw.  In many homes, the Christmas straw becomes a playground for the children.

Mar 19th 2020

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