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What is Jaanipäev?
Jaanipäev is the Estonian midsummer holiday, and I describe the bonfires, grilling, dancing and sauna that mark it where I now live.
This one is not going to be about knitting, and it will be relatively quick.
Why?
Well it’s Jaanipäev (pronounced yaw-nee-pie-ev) here in Estonia. And I’ve been getting requests for a while to hear more about what life is like here as an expat.
Jaanipäev is the traditional midsummer celebration and it’s possibly the biggest holiday of the year.
Even bigger than Christmas!
That also means I’m going to take it easy for the next couple days as there are a lot of activities going on.
Things like giant bonfires, grilling šašlõkk (pronounced shash-lick or what Americans call shishkebab), dancing, sauna, and games. And for many people who are not me, drinking…A LOT.
This video, which is about Jaanipäev celebrations in Vancouver, BC, does a good job of describing the different things Estonians do to celebrate.
Because we’re so far north it doesn’t actually get dark during this time of year.
We get a few hours of twilight as the sun dips below the horizon.
It’s kind of like an extended sunset instead of nighttime.
The bonfire is lit to keep bad spirits away and ensure a good harvest. As the fire dies down people jump over it for good luck and prosperity.
I won’t be jumping over any fires, but I have in the past.
But I do have to get back to the party, so “head Jaanipäev!”
