TALLINN In a Finnish school in Tallinn, this week, a thief was admitted on the day of Estonia’s independence. The actual holiday is on Saturday.
Wednesday started with the raising of the flag, and the Estonian national anthem was played twice, in the yard and later in the ballroom. The students performed Estonian poems, riddles and gave presentations on topics related to Estonia.
Estonia declared its independence on February 24, 1918. Exactly 104 years later, Europe woke up to the fact that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
– We had to start the Independence Day celebration at school. It took on a really different tone that morning, recalls the principal of Tallinn’s Finnish school Riitta Kemppainen moments from two years ago.
Since the independence day of 2022, many speeches have been held in Estonia, in which unpleasant recent history is strongly present. Estonia was occupied and forcibly annexed to the Soviet Union in 1940. It managed to restore its independence only in 1991.
The Russian war of aggression has brought Estonian Soviet history closer to Finns as well, Kemppainen thinks.
– It is a part of history that fortunately has not been experienced in quite the same way in Finland, but the understanding of which has now gradually increased in Finland as well.
The Legacy of a Controversial President
In Estonia, the loss of independence is strongly personified by one man: to the country’s first president To Konstantin Päts.
Päts is a controversial figure. His merits in the country’s independence are indisputable, but on the other hand, Estonia, which he led, agreed to the demands of the Soviet Union in 1939. The Soviet Union demanded bases on Estonian soil. A year later, Estonia was occupied.
Finland did not agree to the demands of its eastern neighbor and had to fight both the Winter War and the Continuation War against the Soviet Union.
– He was undoubtedly a contradictory figure, admits the 27-year-old historian, Päts’ successor Katariina Sofia Päts.
– However, on Independence Day, I think it is important to remember that thanks to him and his contemporaries, Estonians have their own state.
The idea of one’s own state did not disappear even during the Soviet occupation, Päts emphasizes.
The parade and flag raising are part of the traditions
According to Katariina Sofia Päts, the start of the Russian war of aggression on Estonia’s independence day was a huge shock.
– February 24th will never feel so happy and joyful again. Those familiar with Estonian history are naturally worried.
According to Päts, many western acquaintances have said directly that the Baltic countries are a buffer between them and Russia.
– Being aware of its role infuriates and scares. But one must not let fear paralyze oneself. On the contrary, you have to make double the effort, Päts states.
As a personal contribution to the future of his country, Päts believes that even if the whole world is open to the young researcher, he is not going to leave Estonia.
– I have also tried to choose all my work and activities so that they have a wider social significance. You don’t have to be a politician to make an impact.
In Estonia, independence started to be celebrated on the day of the original declaration of independence already in 1989, two years before independence was restored.
The grip of the Soviet Union had loosened at that time and the Estonians changed the blue-black-and-white flag to the Pitkä Hermann tower on February 24, 1989.
Earlier in the Soviet period, even mentioning independence was punishable under the Criminal Code.
Estonia finally regained its independence on August 20, 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up. The anniversary of the restoration of independence is also celebrated and is a day off.
The well-established independence day tradition of Katariina Sofia Pätsi and her parents is watching the national parade on the spot. In addition, the family is trying to participate in the festive flag-raising ceremony at the foot of the Pitkä Hermann tower in Tallinn’s Toompea. The flag is raised at sunrise.
– Yes, it is behind work and pain, because you have to wake up so early, Päts laughs.
However, the family does not cover the party table kilo shark bread or other traditional Estonian festive dishes.
– We have often eaten some foreign food on Independence Day. A little with the idea that freedom also means that we can eat whatever pleases us, Päts says.
Riitta Kemppainen, who has lived in Estonia for seven years, says that her family celebrates Finland’s independence day a little more strongly than Estonia’s independence day. Still, they have already created traditions for Estonia’s independence day.
– A morning run to pick up the ticket for the Pitkä Hermann tower is part of it. Then we explored with interest what kind of blue-black-and-white delicacies the shop had – starting with ice cream, Kemppainen smiles.
The president of Estonia also holds an independence day reception, and people watch the celebrations on television.
– Small glimpses here and there, but I haven’t followed it as closely as the reception of the Finnish president, says Kemppainen.