Paper short abstract:

The presentation will compare changes in the celebration of holidays in the period from 1992 to 2018 and compare them with holidays in the period from 1918 to 1940/1944. Discussions focus on the impact of statehood, politics and media on the holiday cycle.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation will compare changes in the celebration of holidays in the period from 1992 to 2018. Data originate from large youth lore corpora from 1992, 2007 and 2018, and studies and texts from media have also been taken into account. The calendar corpus allows us to monitor changes in the structure and essence of folk/ethnographic/local traditions, holidays celebrated at home, church feasts and public holidays. Comparisons are based on folklore materials and media reports collected during the period of the independent Republic of Estonia (1918-1940/1944). The search for the establishment of national public holidays to accompany traditional agrarian holidays began in the early 20th century, but the search for different ways to introduce novel international holidays and the search for new forms of celebration was also noteworthy. Focus shifted on the appreciation of the institution of family or the local community/place, which was combined with general trends prevailing in neighbouring countries.

An assessment of what transpired in the period from 1992 to 2018 makes it obvious that the introduction of contemporary innovative holidays continued alongside restored holidays. New private, locally distinguished holidays and holidays of a particular group came to the foreground. The increase seen in recent years in the number of members of the Orthodox Catholic Church has also brought about some interesting aspects resulting in a discussion on the time and manner in which holidays are celebrated. There have also been substantial changes in holidays celebrated in the family. We thus have new means and opportunities, which leads us to ask what influences calendar holidays? Have our values and concepts transformed and changed? Will holidays continue to be adapted and what effect does entertainment have on the current calendar cycle? Discussions focus on the impact of statehood, politics and media on the holiday cycle.