The autumn time holidays are pretty similar in the Baltic countries such as Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania.
So here are some of the Latvian autumn festivals from the old days.
I don't speak the Latvian language,
So all the Latvian listeners,
I apologize if my pronunciation is terrible.
In Latvia,
Festival Apiumidas began the autumn season.
Apiumidas was celebrated to honor the god Jumis.
He was a pagan god of harvest and fertility,
And he was celebrated during autumn equinox between the 22nd and 24th of September.
The 1st of October was Mikkeli,
The day of Saint Michael,
And this is similar to the Finnish Mikonpäivä.
The day was named after both the Catholic saint and the archangel Michael.
It is very likely that the original Mikkeli was a nature spirit.
In Latvian folk belief,
Saint Michael was the receiver of souls.
Before the arrival of Christianity in Latvia,
That was the job of the god Jumis.
In both Finland and in Latvia,
Mikkeli was the gate to winter,
And all the farm work had to be finished by Mikkeli.
In Latvia,
People believed into the dividing time,
A period in autumn when all the spirits of the dead wandered on the earth.
Vero laiks means the time of the dead,
And it was followed by ledus liikkees,
The time of the ice.
After ledus liikkees,
It was safe to walk on ice.
Then there was the day of Saint Martin,
Which in Latvia was known as Marttini.
Marttini,
Also known as Marttindiera,
Was celebrated on November 10th.
In Finland,
Day is known as Marttipäivä,
And in Estonia,
As Marttipää.
Marttini was named after the Catholic Saint Martin of Tours,
And also sometimes after Martin Luther,
The founder of Lutheranism.
The day of Saint Martin is celebrated all over Europe,
But the holy day itself is way older,
And the name of it is based on French word morti and Latin mori meaning dead.
In pre-Christian times in Latvia,
Marttini was celebrated to honour the horse god Martins.
He was a dual god.
In the springtime,
He would turn into god Uusins.
During the night of Marttini,
Young ladies threw their skirts to the floor before going to bed,
And in the dream,
Their future spouse would pick it up.
Festivies included masquerades,
Parades,
Sleigh riding,
Dances,
And preparing lots of food.
There was also marty parades going around in Marttini.
Greek martys were grown-ups,
And small martys were children.
Martys were people who painted their faces and dressed up as spirits of the dead.
These parades were common in other countries as well,
Like Austria,
Germany,
Finland,
Netherlands,
Sweden and Estonia.
This lesson is going to be about Marttipäivä,
Which is an Estonian celebration.
Now I speak a little bit Estonian,
But if any Estonian person is listening to this and my pronunciation is very off,
I apologize.
In Estonia,
Marttipäivä is celebrated on November 10th.
It's the day of Saint Martins.
In the Northern Hemisphere,
Often festivals and celebrations that were related to the agricultural world take place around the same time.
Mikkipäivä,
The day of Saint Michael,
On September 29th,
Began a time period called Hindedäik,
Coming from the Estonian word hin,
Meaning spirit,
And bret,
Was believed to be the time when souls and spirits walked among the living.
There are different versions telling how long Hindedäik lasted.
According to some versions,
Hindedäik ended on Gatlipäivä,
The day of Saint Catherine,
November 25th,
And according to other sources,
Hindedäik ended on Christmas Eve.
There are also some sources which tell us that Hindedäik ended on Marttipäivä.
Hindedäik was a time period dedicated to remember the passed away people and relatives.
Baltic countries were some of the last countries in Europe that were converted into Christianity.
Still today,
Such Christian holidays like All Saints Day are not celebrated in Estonia and have no religious meaning for most people there.
In Estonia,
All Saints Day is known as Hingedäpäivä,
Day of the spirits,
And people lit up candles to remember their passed away relatives.
And we have this same tradition in Finland.
Some of the traditions that belonged into Marttipäivä was to prepare dinner for the family and passed away relatives.
Food and drinks were served for the dead.
Sauna was also prepared for the spirits.
It was a custom that lady and the master of the house would invite the passed away relatives inside one by one.
They asked their ancestors to protect the fields and the herd and thanked them for watching over the family.
After the dinner and sauna,
Lady and the master wished farewell for the ancestors and safe journey back wherever they were returning.
Food that were served in the Marttipäivä dinner was barley porridge,
Boiled meat,
Broth,
Beans and peas.
Very common Marttipäivä dish in Estonia is goose.
It was forbidden to make any kind of noisy chores during Marttipäivä.
Women especially were not allowed to weave or do anything that had something to do with cotton.
It was believed that that would jinx the flags in the coming year.
In Estonia,
Marttis are an essential part of Marttipäivä.
Marttis were children and sometimes adults who wrapped soot into their faces.
They wore old sheets to mimic the spirits.
Marttis went from house to house in small groups,
Performing songs and little plays,
And for that they were served with sweets,
Foods and drinks.
There was believed that the more Marttis people welcomed into their homes,
Their crop would be very plentiful.
This custom originates from France,
Where during Middle Ages there was a custom in monasteries to give so-called soul cakes for the poor.
Before receiving a soul cake,
Person had to pray and think about a passed away person.
Custom was brought to Estonia by German invaders in the late Middle Ages.
In Marttipäivä parades,
Large groups of Marttis walked through the town.
Marttipäivä parade was led by Martti father,
Followed by Martti mother,
Martti children and sometimes they even had a Martti baby.
Marttipäivä visitors walked towards a large building where there was a big celebration that included singing,
Dancing,
Plays,
Lot of good food and drinking.
People played harps,
Trumpets,
Violins and smallest children beat bands together just to create noise.
Keeping lots of noise was believed to keep evil spirits away.
In modern day Estonia,
Marttipäivä is still celebrated mostly in smaller towns and in the countryside.
In bigger cities,
People don't like to invite strangers to their homes.
And in bigger cities like Tallinn,
Marttipäivä festivities take place in Marttipäivä market.
In smaller towns and villages you can still find groups of children visiting from house to house performing songs and plays.
And Marttipäivä is also celebrated still today in many Estonian schools.
