This blog post was written by our student ambassador Ana, who is a student of the semiotics programme at the University of Tartu.
It’s Christmas time once again! The season of joy, peace and singing. Speaking of singing, have you ever wondered what Christmas songs are sung in Estonia? In this blog, we will introduce top 5 most famous Christmas carols in Estonian language which are sung among both children and adults and which help out in bringing the Christmas spirit. We hope you will enjoy in this selection and even listen to some of them, so you can experience the Estonian Christmas joy and even learn a bit of Estonian through the melodic verses.
1. Aisakell (Jingle bells)
. Who doesn’t love singing and listening to this famous Christmas song during the holiday time? Lyrics in Estonian are very much similar by meaning to the original carol, singing about winter festivities and the arrival of a special figure during Christmas time.
2. Tiliseb, tiliseb Aisakelll (Jingle, jingle, jinglebell)
. The carol describes jingling of the bells along with the falling of the snow flakes. Both true Christmas and a winter carol.
3. Oh, kuusepuu (Oh, Christmas tree)
. Kuusk (eng. spruce tree) is considered a Christmas tree in Estonia and it is bought and decorated in homes and town squares. The carol depicts beauty and significance of the Christmas tree, just like in the original carol. It is also a choir carol in Estonia.
4. Päkapikk (Kes elab metsa sees?) Elf (Who lives in the forest?)
. In Estonian folk tradition, the elf is considered to be a bearer of gifts during winter solstice time. The elf puts gifts along with some fruits and nuts in the stocking on the window. The song depicts the elf who lives in the forest and bakes delicious bread for all the nice children.
5. Haldjate jõuluöö (Fairy Christmas night)
l, the fairies or the elves sneak into the house while everyone is asleep and play under the Christmas tree making Christmas more jolly and nice.
You can find all these carols on Youtube, but .
We hope these carols will bring you some Christmas joy and we wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy and successful New year! Häid Jõule ja head Uut aastat!
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