St. Catherine's Day, also known as Kadripäev, is celebrated in Estonia on November 25th. It marks the arrival of winter and the end of harvest season. Historically, it commemorated the martyrdom of St. Catherine and was associated with keeping herds of livestock. Traditional customs involved people dressing up and singing songs door-to-door in exchange for gifts of food and supplies. Men and women sometimes dressed as women. The songs focused on luck with herds rather than harvest. Today, St. Catherine's Day remains popular in Estonia, especially among students and rural communities.

1. ST. CATHERINE'S
DAY OR
KADRIPÄEV
Kohtla-Järve Järve Vene Gümnasium
2014

2.  Catherine’s day has retained its popularity throughout the
centuries and is still widely celebrated in modern-day
Estonia. It marks the arrival of winter and is one of the
more important and popular autumn days in the Estonian
folk calendar. Day of St. Catherine is celebrated on 25
November.

3. HISTORICAL MEANING OF KADRIPÄEV
 St. Catherine’s Day commemorates the martyrdom of
St. Catherine. In Lutheran countries, including Estonia,
this day has also been associated with Catherine, the
wife of Martin Luther. In Estonia, five parish churches
and at least as many chapels have been dedicated to
St. Catherine.

4.  Similar to St. Martin's day on November 10, St. Catherine’s
day also marks the arrival of winter. Generally, St. Martin’s
day and St. Catherine’s day are described by their
differences: St. Martin’s day is primarily a holiday associated
with men and St. Catherine’s day is associated with women.

5. CUSTOM

The customs for the Estonian St. Catherine’s day are generally
associated with the Kadrisants or Kadris, which give the whole day a
unique quality, although it is similar to the traditions practiced on St.
Martin’s day. Both require dressing up and going from door to door on
the eve of the holiday to collect gifts, such as food, cloth and wool, in
return for suitable songs and blessings.

6.  On Estonian farms, minding the herds and flocks were
primarily the responsibility of women and therefore,
St.Catherine’s day involves customs pertaining more to
herd keeping than farming. In addition, both men and
women may dress up as women. In comparison to the
mardisants, who were generally dressed in a masculine
and rough manner and often wore animal masks, the
kadris wear clean and light-coloured clothing, which is in
reference to the coming snow.

7.  Regarding the songs for St. Martin’s day and St. Catherine’s day,
the main content difference is that the former songs wished the
visited families harvest luck and the latter songs luck with the
herds and flocks, particularly with the sheep. On St. Catherine’s
day, in order to protect the sheep, shearing and weaving were
forbidden and sewing and knitting were also occasionally
banned.

8.  St. Catherine’s day has retained its popularity throughout the
centuries, including the half-century of Soviet occupation, during
which no direct official obstructions to the celebrations were made,
probably due to the apolitical nature of the holiday. Thus, St.
Catherine’s day is still widely celebrated in modern-day Estonia. It is
particularly popular among students and the rural population.

9. SOURCE

http://www.vm.ee/?q=node/8449/4281

10. THANKS FOR
ATTENTION!