Mäetagused (Aug 2017)
Virumaa kalendritavad ja nende piirkondlik omapära
Abstract
The article gives an overview of calendrical rituals in Virumaa region, Estonia, mainly on the basis of customs descriptions preserved in the folklore archives of the Estonian Literary Museum since the last decades of the 19th century. Calendrical themes are complemented by proverbs, narratives about working prohibitions, etc. The influence of ancient Scandinavian agriculture that has persisted in northern Estonia for centuries, shows signs of weakening in the eastern part of Virumaa; in general, emphasis is laid on nature observations, as well as weather and crop-related omens in connection to calendrical holidays. The most important ritual foods are pork and mutton, barley and rye, as well as dairy products. The northern coast rituals reveal common features with Finnish calendrical traditions; there are also some common holidays unknown in the inland. Indoor jobs were prohibited in the period from All Saints’ Day (November 1) to Martinmas (November 10); in this period preferable activities were riddle-guessing and story-telling, not to inflict harm on cattle. St Stephen’s Day (December 26) was a public holiday related to horses; on this day men rode on horseback to other households to drink beer. In the south-eastern part of Virumaa County there is the historic indigenous Votic area, with additional Russian population. This area is influenced by Orthodox calendrical traditions. The celebration of St George’s Day (April 23) – the day when cattle were first let into the open – adopted features of an Eastern Slavic women’s feast. The souls of the deceased were treated at homes according to the Orthodox calendar – on Parents’ Saturday; in other regions of Estonia food was left for ancestors’ souls in the autumn, during a longer period.
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