Candlemas – A Holiday for Women
Candlemas Day February 2th, 11:00-15:00
Candlemas was an important holiday in the Estonian folk calendar. On this day, the back of winter is broken, meaning that half of the winter has passed. Food stock was counted in barns and if only half of the stock had been used up, people could breathe easy because the family had enough food to last until spring. Making candles on Candlemas was a must because light sources made on that day were believed to burn the longest and the brightest. Women and girls anticipated Candlemas with particular excitement, as it was one of the four holidays a year when women could visit a pub, sing, dance, and even have a drink or two. On this day, men were supposed to take care of household tasks and mind children.
Today, Estonian women are able to decide for themselves what they do in life, when and if they get married, or how many children they have. Not so long ago, women fared far worse. During the Candlemas event, we will discuss various issues revolving around women’s rights throughout history.
Fascinating presentations on the situation of women’s rights in contemporary Estonia are going to take place in Kolu Inn. You can also visit the farms of the museum to see scenes of living history depicting the lives of women during different eras.
The event is free to attend with a museum card, Tallinn Card, or an Estonian Open Air Museum annual pass!
Kolu Inn
11.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
Presentations and discussions
Estonian Human Rights Centre
Q Space
The societal role of Erzyan women (Natalja Jermakov)
Sex lives of ancient Estonians
Scenes of living history in the farmsteads
11.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
A single old woman lives in a 19th-century cotter’s shack, i.e. Nulli Maie cottage, who must manage men’s work in addition to her own because there is no man around to help. Using a two-man saw for sawing fire wood for winter is a real challenge and water buckets become heavier with each passing year.
Härjapea Farm from the 1930s is home to a family in which the mistress of the house was educated at a home economics school and now also leads a rural women’s society. The eldest daughter wants to study at the University of Tartu – much to the dismay of her sweetheart from the neighbouring village. Will she choose love or education?
A new schoolmistress arrived at Kuie School (19th century), despite the locals really wanting a schoolmaster. The people in the parish were disappointed because a woman is not capable of handling stubborn boys and when the pastor needs a temporary substitute, then a woman is certainly unsuitable for that role. In the school building, you will discover whether the young lady is able to prove her prowess as a teacher or she must resign herself to the role of a housewife.
In the kitchen of the school building, the mother of the schoolmistress teaches older students how to make candles from sheep fat.
Helmi, who works as a tractor driver, lives in a kolkhoz apartment building from the 1960s. She must find time to take care of her family in addition to her demanding job. Fortunately, a Soviet woman is resourceful, resilient, and hard-working, so even the most complicated problems can be solved with the help of comrades.