Two Estonian Halloweens: Mardipäev and Kadripäev
Did you know that Estonia can offer you something more interesting than Halloween?
When coming to Estonia, lots of international students expect Halloween to be a big deal here. This is, however, not always the case. There are, of course, plenty of events happening everywhere in the country, but the tradition of Halloween in Estonia is relatively young. Nevertheless, there’s something more authentic and unique Estonia has to offer. Historically, Estonians have celebrated two “Halloweens”: Mardipäev (Saint Martin’s Day) and Kadripäev (Saint Catherine’s Day). For both holidays, children traditionally visited houses around the village singing, telling riddles and collecting sweets.
Mardipäev, 10th of November, marks the beginning of winter after harvest season. It is known as one of the most important and treasured days in the Estonian folk calendar. It originated from older traditions of celebrating and honouring the dead (on the calendar it falls close to All Souls’ Day on November 2nd) that were later merged with religious customs by the Catholic church across Europe.
Estonians celebrate Mardipäev by dressing up in beggars’ clothes or as forest spirits. People go from door to door in groups, singing songs, dancing and wishing good fortune to fellow neighbors. Children are led by a mardi-father dressed in dark-coloured clothing with whom they collect sweets and other gifts from each family. This is followed by a village gathering where traditionally goose meat and gooseberries are served. Historically, this holiday used to be mostly celebrated by men, but women also took part in the singing and dancing since the 19th century.
Kadripäev is celebrated 2 weeks later on the 25th of November and has more of a focus on women. In the folk calendar, it marks the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. This time children visit neighbors being led by a kadri-mother dressed in light-coloured women’s clothing. Kadri is known as a guardian spirit of cattle, and the holiday was meant to bless the cows and sheep with good fortune before winter arrived. A meal eaten on Kadripäev might consist of porridge, beans and peas, which were also traditionally served to ancestors and at funerals, as well as kama (a flour mixture) and craft beer. In the days between Mardipäev and Kadripäev there a tradition of leaving sheep un-sheared. What is also intersting to notice is that in Estonia there are five parish churches that are dedicated to St. Catherine.
Although we are more familiar with the “e-Estonia” of today, there are still plenty of ways to observe the agricultural traditions of the past across the country. Mardipäev and Kadripäev have retained their significance and are widely popular among thousands of Estonians especially in small towns and villages. One example is when some elementary schoolers, in order to be let in to the building, dress in dark colors and sing the mardilaul (Mart’s song) for Mardipäev and dress in light colors and sing kadrilaul (Kadri’s song) for Kadripäev.
As Student Ambassadors, we do our best to promote respecting and learning more about the traditions and cultural heritage of the country we are in. A good opportunity to experience Mardipäev and Kadripäev for yourself and learn traditional begging songs takes place at the Estonian Open Air Museum: more information on the 2021 event can be found by clicking here.
Disclaimer: the article was not written by a professional historian or an ethnographer and all the information was found online.
Sources:
https://www.visitestonia.com/en/estonian-autumn-holidays
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine's_Day
https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardip%C3%A4ev
https://offeringstone.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/mardipaev-and-soul-time-in-estonia/
