Folklorist calls for joy and creativity in Mardipäev tradition

People who go from house to house for Mardipäev should enjoy the tradition and use their creativity, folklorist Marju Kõivupuu said on ERR’s morning programme Terevisioon.

The visitors, known as mardisants, begin their rounds on the evening before Mardipäev, which falls on November 10. Kõivupuu said the custom has several layers and has changed over time.

She recalled going mardisanting as a child in a small town in southern Estonia in the late 1960s, when there were few other forms of entertainment. In the 19th century, she said, Mardipäev and Kadripäev were adult celebrations where young unmarried people could meet. The custom later became a way to pass the dark evenings.

Written accounts of Mardipäev and mardisanting date back to 1840, when the German-language journal Das Inland reported that Estonians had long gone mardisanting and kadrisanting. Kõivupuu said the tradition may also have been influenced by begging monks and Catholic culture. She described the holidays as combining pre-Christian and Christian elements.

The basic custom, she said, is for visitors to sing, ask to be let inside and wish the household good fortune. In return, hosts give them gifts. The wishes have changed over time: in an agricultural society, people might have wished for seven stallions, she said.

Kõivupuu said she is working to have mardisanting added to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. She stressed the importance of keeping the tradition’s creativity alive, encouraging people to think through their performance, sing and enjoy themselves.