Family Shrovetide
Shrove Tuesday is the eve of the first day of Lent. This is the last day when you can still eat some fatty pig trotters and have as much fun as you like! Make sure to sledge or ski down the slope for good luck with next year’s linen harvest, which symbolises prosperity: the farther you go, the better it will be. The Estonian Open Air Museum is waiting for you to sledge, ski, play Shrovetide games and make spinners of pig trotter bones. As Shrove Tuesday is also considered to be a women’s festive day, you will be able to learn some beauty tips from the 1930s and see the work of present-day hairdressers. Come to the museum to celebrate!
- Traditional activities on our farms from 11:00 to 16:00
- Sledging slope and the inn open from 11:00 to 18:00
- Winter season ticket valid for entry
HOW TO FIND US?
By car: free parking at the parking lot at the main entrance of the museum.
By public transport: buses No. 21 and 21B will bring you to the main entrance of the museum (bus stop Rocca al Mare) or to the rear gate closer to the event location (bus stop Õismäe raba). Buses No. 41 and 41b will get you from the museum to the city centre.
Windmills hill – If the weather allows, there will be slopes for sledging and an ice merry-go-round at the windmills.
Grand Sled Making Competition
There’s no limit to what you can use as a sled if you want to go the farthest down a slope! Make your unique sled, using a bread peel, a plastic bag or even a car tyre, bring it to the sledging slope and enter the competition. The board of judges will be giving points for the exterior of the sled, for how long you can go and your sledging manner. We are going to take photos of the participants’ sleds and display them on the screen in Kolu inn on the day of the competition as well as post them on social media pages.
At 15.30,
the winner will be announced in Kolu inn.
Kolga farm – skiing
Some like sledging, others prefer skiing or skating.
Whatever your favourite activity, the snow is slippery enough, and you can get
creative in sliding on it. In the yard of Kolga farm, you can try on various
types of skis and see which models and techniques will bring you the farthest
from the start in the shortest time. Also, look for bone ice skates in the
barn!
In the barn-shed building, you can also see the exhibition ‘Every little step counts’ as well as join a guided tour in the shed to see the museum’s farm animals at 11.00, 13.00 or 15.00. NB! The tour lasts for 15 minutes, and the maximum number of participants in a group is 20.
Jüri-Jaagu farm – Shrove Tuesday games
Farm folk would put aside pig trotter bones during the feast on this day and later take these to the pigsty or out to the field or grazing land. This was supposed to draw good luck to the pigs on the farm, ensuring their good health and safety in the summer. In Western Estonia, they would make a ball of rags and straw, which symbolised all kinds of bad things, and banish it from the land, chasing it away with sticks.
Over time, these traditions transformed into fun games of rag ball chasing and “chasing pigs to the field”, which the folks on Jüri-Jaagu farm will gladly show to anyone who wants to know.
Kolkhoz apartment building – Life is short; might as well live it with great hair
Shrove Tuesday was the day to take special care of one’s hair so that it would grow healthy and beautiful. These days, someone else’s or artificial hair can supplement your own. In the 2019 apartment of the Kolkhoz apartment building, you can see a display of wigs, moustache and beards made of natural and artificial hair. The participating hairdressers can tach you to make hairdos with plaits and tell you about their work, including how they attach hair extensions.
In 1978, the homemaker will be baking ‘vastlakukkel’ semla rolls.
Kuie school – bone spinners
When spinners made of pig trotter bones spin, they make a distinct buzzing sound, which was believed to scare away evil spirits. Feel free to join the workshop in the school building and make a spinner to protect you from evil!
Lau village shop – beauty tips
Shrove Tuesday is about women! In the drawing room of Lau shop, you can learn some beauty tips of the period. Did you know how they used coal, lemon juice and vinegar for cosmetic purposes? Will you dare to taste red-coloured liquors and try to guess what they are, or will you be watching others do it?
The shop counter is where you will find a wide range of sweets and red-coloured liquor for purchase.
Härjapea farm - making sweets
The house lady of the farm bakes sweets called „pig's ears“, go and see if they really bake pig's ears or…?
Kolu inn – folk musical instruments and a book presentation
Shrove Tuesday is the last day to celebrate before Lent, so musician and musical instrument maker Tarmo Kivisilla will be talking about Estonian folk instruments in the inn’s great hall. In addition, there will be a presentation of the new children’s book “My seasons of the year” published with the support of Maxima.
The inn will be serving delicious Shrove Tuesday foods: pig trotters, hearty pea soup and semla rolls filled with whipped cream.
At 12.00:
Estonian folk musical instruments
At 13.00: presentation of the children’s book “My seasons of the year”. Maret Tamjärv, a researcher and curator at the museum, will be discussing the book and the folk calendar with the author, Katariina Libe. The guests can buy the books signed by the author after the presentation.
At 14.00:
Estonian folk musical instruments
At 15.00: presentation of the children’s book “My seasons of the year”. Maret Tamjärv, a researcher and curator at the museum, will be discussing the book and the folk calendar with the author, Katariina Libe. The guests can buy the books signed by the author after the presentation.
At 15.30: announcing the winners of the Grand Sled Making Competition.
Horseback riding - It is possible for enthusiasts to go horseback riding at Nätsi windmill square.
Setu farm as well as the Russian house from Peipus will be open, but their busy hostesses will be celebrating the eve of the Lent on Maslenitsa by the ‘old’ (Julian) calendar, on 16 March.
