Jaaniõhtu (Midsummer Eve – 23 June) and Jaanipäev (Midsummer Day, St John’s Day – 24 June) are the most important holidays in the Estonian calendar.
The Jaanipäev celebrations were merged with the celebration of Võidupüha (Victory Day) after the War of Independence, when the Estonian forces defeated the German troops on 23 June 1919.
So, we have long holiday 🙂
Jaanipäev is summer solstice and we say ” sun do not go down”. Even at 10 pm you can read book, because is enough light 🙂 This is the day, when all children has permission to be awake overnight.
To be honest. Because of global warming summer is not summer anymore. My birthday is 17th of June, and few years ago in my birthday was snowing !
And about Jaanipäev- yes we have bonfires, but usually exactly this evening is raining or lot of mosquitoes and.. this is not very fun:)
But still until today we believe: the lighting of the bonfire and jumping over it. This is a way of guaranteeing prosperity and avoiding bad luck.
In Estonian fairy tales and literature, there is a tale of two lovers, Koit (dawn) and Hämarik (dusk). These two lovers see each other only once a year and exchange the briefest of kisses on the shortest night of the year. Earth-bound lovers go into the forest looking for the “flower of the fern” which is said to bloom only on that night.
So, this is important day for young pars…:) and lot of grill and chill. And next morning you just need a sour and sweet soup. I do not call this Selyanka, because real Selyanka is little bit different. But very similar:) This is Selyanka-type soup. Continue reading “After Party Soup. Seljanka”
