New Year, New You, New Traditions: Bringing the Old Back with Näärid (New Year’s) – Lachlan

As the New Year unfolds and the start of the Year of the Snake approaches, this time can bring up both feelings of uncertainty and renewal, hope, and the promise of fresh beginnings. The month of January in Estonian is known by other names such as südakuu (heart), näärikuu (New Year), helmekuu (beading month), vahtsõaastakuu (Seto – beginning of the new year) while back in Australia, January marks the height of summer holidays, the relief from food-induced comas and post-Chrissy guilt, choirs of cicadas and the start of the new academic year. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it symbolises longer days to come and the incoming Spring semester, among many other things. 

As an international student (who studies folklore) I find immersing myself in local customs offers me a chance to not only orient myself in an unfamiliar seasonal cycle and environment but also work out my translation muscles. Rooted in folklore and symbolic practices, these customs, such as those celebrated in Estonia for Näärid (aka Vana aasta lõppu or Uusaasta), can offer valuable reminders on how to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the semester ahead, and also fun projects to do during the winter break.

If you think New Year’s Eve is just about champagne, countdowns, and fireworks, Estonia has a treat for you. Here, Näärid is a fascinating mix of ancient traditions, folklore, and Soviet-era adaptations. Let’s take a look at why this holiday holds a special place in Estonian culture and how it’s celebrated.

NB: Sources come from translated articles in BERTA and the book series Eesti Rahvakalender available for borrowing in the UT Library and Tartu City Library.

Image source: Murd, B. (1960). Scene from Märjamaa Cultural Centre’s production “When the New Year Goat Was Brought Indoors.” Feeding the New Year Goat. Editorial Office of the Magazine Pilt ja Sõna (AIS). Rahvusarhiiv

A Brief History of Näärid

The word Näärid (New Year’s) comes from Low German and has been part of the Estonian calendar since the 16th century. While Jõulud (Christmas), particularly the 24th December, has historically held more significance, New Year’s gained prominence in the 18th century when the 1 January became the official start of the year. Over time, Näärid merged old agricultural rituals with church customs and, during the Soviet era became secular celebrations with religious holidays being banned. Traditions like Santa Claus (Jõuluvana) got a makeover as New Year’s Father (Näärivana), ensuring celebrations continued in a new guise and have left behind mixed feelings of nostalgia and reluctance towards Näärid celebrations.

While today’s New Year’s festivities might look familiar with fireworks and midnight toasts, Estonia adds its own unique flavour. Here are some traditions that make Näärid stand out:

Fortune-Telling Fun

• New Year’s Eve in Estonia has long been associated with divination practices to predict the future, focusing on marriage, children, travel, and other big life changes. Fortune tin pouring, known as õnnetina valamine, is a long-standing New Year’s Eve tradition for predicting future destinies, with roots in ancient Greece and widespread practice in Finland, Germany, Austria, Turkey, and Czechia. Introduced to Estonia over a century ago from Western Europe, the ritual originally used melted paraffin, wax, or animal fat poured into water or snow. Today, horseshoe-shaped tin pieces are melted and cast individually by family members, with the resulting shapes interpreted for insight into the coming year.
• A popular form of divination in Southern Estonia involved people listening for certain sounds outdoors, typically at a crossroads. The main symbolic sounds are the rattling of tables (signifying death), a dog barking (weddings, engagement), and the ringing of sleigh bells (wedding). This custom was more commonly practiced in Southern Estonia. Other customs also involved checking for footprints in the ashes of the hearth or throwing shoes over shoulders. A special bread (näärileib), was enriched with seeds and baked with grain stalks embedded into the dough. Salt was often sprinkled on the bread, and part of it was saved for spring festivals to be offered to animals and herders. While bringing bread to the barn for animals was more closely tied to Christmas, it was also practiced on New Year’s and Epiphany (6th January). These were all traditional ways of predicting the future, ward off evil spirits and bring luck to the home.

Image source: “Greeting card with a family in folk costumes and the text ‘May your New Year celebrations be wonderful, and may the year be prosperous!’” Eesti Rahva Muuseum.

Prohibitions

Several prohibitions, mostly around the house and based on agrarian occupations were observed to ensure good fortune and prosperity for the coming year. People would go outside to observe the stars and sky, with a calm night predicting a peaceful year, while frost is seen as a good omen for crops. Being barefoot on New Year’s Eve was avoided to prevent injuries in the summer, falling asleep before midnight was believed to bring laziness throughout the year, and sweeping or washing floors on New Year’s morning was avoided to prevent sweeping away good fortune. In Western Estonia, Windows were covered overnight to prevent light from escaping, which was thought to protect crops from burning or failing, and fires were kept burning indoors throughout the night to ensure safety and prosperity. Whilst many of these have fallen out of favour, some could be easily adapted into your own rituals!

Feasting and Festivity

• The Näärid feast was all about abundance. Traditional dishes resemble a Christmas feast closely, with the näärid table featuring a minimum of 12 dishes, though the exact number wasn’t strictly observed. Typical foods included roast pork with potatoes, verivorst (blood sausage, black pudding), sült (kholodets, aspic, jellied meat), sauerkraut, salted herring with sour cream, rosolje (beet salad), piparkoogid (gingerbread), saiakesed (pastries), tort, kringel (a braided bread), stuffed eggs, heeringa rullid (herring rolls), maksapasteet (liver pâté), beer, apple or plum compotes, apples, nuts, and sweets. Importantly the table was set as abundantly as possible, and as with some other observances, the table was not cleared after eating, allowing the spirits of ancestors to partake of the food, ensuring that there would be enough provisions in the new year.
• For those with friends and family abroad, the act of sending traditional New Year’s greeting cards featuring festive imagery and symbols of good fortune such as chimney sweeps, four-leaf clovers, and horseshoes remains popular. Nowadays, sending e-cards is a new modern way of participating in the custom.

Image source: Lukats, B. (1945). Jõulud-näärid. [Print]. Eesti Rahva Muuseum.

Fireworks and Public Celebrations

• In smaller villages there was a tradition where masked people, historically men, wear animal masks and visit households to bring good fortune for the year. In Western Estonia, this practice is associated with fertility and prosperity rituals, often featuring figures such as the näärisokk (Yule/New Year’s goat), näärikaru (bear), and other animal masks. The näärisokk closely resembles the Finnish nuuttipukki, who appears on Saint Knut’s Day (January 13) marking the end of the Christmas season in Finland and Sweden. Similar to Mardipäev and Kadripäev masking traditions, the näärisokk symbolizes fertility, with masked performers dressed in sheepskin coats and wooden goat heads mounted on poles. Their visits, often from midnight until dawn, included playful rituals such as nudging people with the goat’s head or spraying water. The tradition believed that the first person to enter a household in the New Year would be the one to bring good luck.
• Being outdoors at midnight on New Year’s Eve was customary. In earlier times, the night was greeted with loud noises and gunshots to drive away evil spirits. Homemade smoke bombs and sparklers gave way to readily available fireworks and official displays.
• Cities like Tallinn and Tartu put on impressive fireworks displays, albeit in much less formal ways. In Estonia, you can purchase fireworks legally but they are regulated to ensure safety and minimise disturbances, especially with consideration for people and animals. Fireworks can typically be bought by individuals aged 18 and over, and their use is generally restricted to specific periods, such as New Year’s Eve and other festive occasions. Outside these times, special permits may be required to set off fireworks. 

Image source: Film, E. K. (1938).  Straw New Year Crown at the Estonian National Museum. Eesti Rahva Muuseum.

Home Decoration

Näärikroonid, or hanging New Year’s crowns (known by hundreds of regional names such as laekroon, jõulukroon, rookroon, õlekroon, laevurr, kärbsekiik, kräss, tuulekera, jõulututt, tubur, näärikana, roos, jõululühter, ristid and korsena to name a few) are common decorations around the New Year. You may have seen these hanging around Tartu Raekoja plats and as light fixtures along the streets. These ceiling decorations were made from straw, reeds, or other materials such as potatoes, adorned with painted eggs, yarn, paper rosettes, fabric strips and were used during New Year’s, Christmas, and other celebrations. Originating in Western Estonia and influenced by Scandinavian traditions, these crafts gained nationwide popularity in the 1960s and 1970s.

Image source: author’s own

A Celebration of Reflection and Renewal

Näärid marks more than just a period of changeover in the Gregorian calendar, it’s a time to reflect on the past year, connect with your loved ones (in person or digitally) and embrace hopes for what your future (academic) year may bring. Whether it’s gathering around a bountiful table, predicting fortunes, or enjoying a sparkling night sky, Näärid is a blend of tradition and modernity that continues to inspire. The cycle of Estonia’s folk calendar continues into January with kolmekuningapäev (Epiphany) marking the time to put away your Christmas decorations. Later on come the following days in January: 

• January 13 – Nuutinpäivä (Finland – Saint Knut’s Day), or Nuudipäev (Canoe Day): Marks the end of the Christmas season in coastal regions of Estonia, and similarly celebrated in Sweden and Finland, marked by the “throwing out” of the Christmas tree, both figuratively and literally. Remember to take down your Christmas decorations!
• 14th January – Taliharjapäev (Winter Peak Day): Also known as the “turn of the winter day,” this date signifies the midpoint of winter, indicating that the days will gradually become longer. It’s a time to reflect on the remaining winter and anticipate the coming spring.
• January 17 – Tõnisepäev (St. Anthony’s Day): Celebrated in honor of St. Anthony, this day is associated with various customs, including the belief that the weather can predict the summer’s climate. For instance, if the sun shines on St. Anthony’s Day, it is thought to indicate a good summer ahead. 
• January 25 – Tatjanapäev (Tatiana’s Day) and Paavlipäev (St. Paul’s Day): These two saints’ feast days are observed on the same date. The tradition of tatjanapäev is a Russian student holiday, celebrated in Narva since the mid-1990s. The occasion includes a torchlight procession and the initiation of first-year students as true university students. The evening’s traditions resemble the customs of Volbiröö (Walpurgis Night) celebrated in Tartu on the 1st May. St. Paul’s Day on the other hand is primarily celebrated on the islands and in some parts of Läänemaa (Noarootsi) and Harjumaa (Risti, Harku). Similar to Tõnisepäev (St Anthony’s Day, 17 January) and Küünlapäev (Candlemas, 2nd February) on the mainland, Paul’s Day marks the middle of winter on the islands and signals the division of winter food supplies. Weather omens for St. Paul’s Day are similar to those of other midwinter days: sunshine predicts a good summer, an abundant harvest, and a good hay making season, whereas rainy weather was feared to bring illness and death.

So, as the year turns, why not take a page from Estonia’s book? Light a candle, make a wish, and welcome the new year with warmth, joy, and maybe even a little tin-pouring magic and connect with those you love and cherish.