Halloween vs Mardipäev

Today is Halloween. And everybody keeps asking my opinion on Halloween vs Mardipäev. So here it is.

To be honest, I don't really care at all which one you celebrate. As an Estonian, Mardipäev is way closer to my heart but it does not matter I am against celebrating Halloween.
You can read more about Mardipäev here.

For me it's more about dressing up as a coal miner or a chimney sweeper, putting on some dark clothes, singing about the long distances travelled, wishing families good luck for the upcoming winter period. And well... the candy is just a great bonus.

So a little bit more about the tradition:
until the early 20th century, only men used to go out on Mardipäev. Because of that this event was often seen as "men's day". Mardid (Mart is a men's name in Estonia, Mardid is the plural of Mart) used to bring good luck to the family.
During the week of the souls (1st-10th of November) it was forbitten to do work that made a lot of noise.
Mardipäev marked the start of indoor works.

As for a conclusion, I'll leave you with a traditional song every Estonian should know:

Mardilaul

Laske mardid tuppa tulla marti-marti
Mardi küüned külmetavad marti marti
Mardi varbad valutavad marti-marti
Mardid tulnud kaugeelta marti-marti
Läbi soo sipa-sopa marti-marti
Läbi laane lipa-lapa marti-marti
Mart tegi sillad soode peale marti-marti
Madalate maade peale marti-marti
Et ei kasta lapsed jalga marti-marti
Lapsed jalga, kitsed sõrga marti-marti


Inspo


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