Happy New Year 10224 !

In this weeks edition:

Estonian Native Believers and the year 10224

Estonian Nature Magazine photo competition winners

The winter lives of wild animals

How did you celebrate New Years Eve?

Estonian Native Believers and the year 10224

The Native Believers of Estonia follow various spiritual traditions that connect with the pre-Christian era. These typically relate to cycles of nature and important times of seasonal change during the year. Native Believers use the so-called Billingen catastrophe, which occurred at the end of the last ice age, as the beginning of their chronology.

As the glaciers retreated north, the Baltic Sea basin was covered with a large lake of glacial melt-water known as the Baltic Ice Lake. Around 11000 years ago this lake began to break its way to the Atlantic Sea near the Billingen mesa in southern Sweden. Over time, thousands of square kilometres of Estonian land appeared from the water.

The Native Believers poetically call this event ‘the birth of the land’, and in their calendar 10224 year cycles have passed since this time. This is also the approximate length of human history in Estonia and the length of the time Finno-Ugric people have lived upon this land.

Estonian Nature Magazine photo competition winners

The winning photos of the annual Eesti Loodus (Estonian Nature Magazine) photography competition were recently posted online and provide a glimpse into the lives of Estonian plants, animals and fungi. The adult and youth competition categories included animals, plants, small animals, small plants, biodiversity, fungi, pets and garden plants.

Winning PHOTO from competition?

The winter lives of wild animals

The website looduskalender.ee (nature calendar) is a favourite of Wild Estonia Weekly as it regularly uploads fascinating photos and stories about the wildlife of Estonian forests, peatbogs, wetlands and coastlines. Below is a selection of some recent winter stories.

The Winter of Landfowl – “It would seem that the forests that groan under their load of snow are empty of birds, but life in the woods hasn’t stopped. In bogs, bog pine forests and neighbouring areas you can meet a long-time native of Estonian nature – the capercaillie.“

How Does a Bear Mother Prepare For Cubs? – “There are about 700 brown bears in the Estonian forests, and about 140 of them are mature females. In nature bears may reach an age of 30 – 40.”

Christmas Peace in Our Forests From Midnight – “The Ilmatsalu kindergarten children were thinking of the “forest people“ already in early autumn. Half a ton of acorns has been collected by busy little hands for the “forest piggies“

Lynx Tracks – “The lynx had reached the night-time shelter of the red deer, sniffed around thoroughly, then moved on in the row of tracks left by the deer. The action was in the very early hours of the morning.”

How did you celebrate New Years Eve?

In high-tech Estonia, there are a number of older traditions still often connected with new year celebrations. As with many cultures, they generally relate to hopes for a successful and prosperous new year. Visit our Facebook page and tell us about your New Years Eve traditions!

- Perhaps due to its intimate connection with the Baltic Sea, it is common for families to eat fish as a New Years Eve meal. The amount of fish scales scattered around the kitchen after preparing the fish is said to indicate the wealth that will come to you over the year.

- Twelve different sorts of food are often left on the table overnight to symbolise the wish to have food on the table for each month of the coming year.

- Molten zinc is sometimes poured into cold water forming a convoluted mass. The shape of this mass is said to symbolise the things which will be significant over the next 12 months.

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