Estonian Society of Sydney invites you to Vastlapäev dinner at Sydney Estonian House (141 Campbell St, Surry Hills),
Friday March 7th at 7pm (doors open 6pm)
Traditional Estonian Shrove Tuesday meal of hearty pea soup & whipped-cream buns (vastlakukkel) is brought to you by our favourite Vastlapäev chef Kadri Stamos.
$20 includes entree, home-cooked soup & home-baked buns – you definitely won’t go hungry!
Join us to eat the delicious food, remind the Shrove Tuesday traditions and perhaps also learn a few dance moves!
See you there!
bookings & table reservations: kadri.stamos@eestiselts.org
SHROVE TUESDAY – VASTLAPÄEV – is a traditional winter festivity, celebrated 7 weeks before Easter either in February or March.
IN THE PAST
This day was related to entertainment and anticipation of spring. According to the Church calendar Lent started on the next day. People went sledging and danced in the evening. Sledging was important – the longer the slide, the longer the stem of flax would be in the fields during the next summer. Slides were taken on a linen bag or a handful of flax, later on sledges and sleighs.
Humming tops were made of bones of pigs’ feet and there were competitions for the best humming top.
It was forbidden to light a fire or to spin lamb’s wool. It was advisable and customary to comb and cut hair.
Shrove Tuesday was a holiday for women. They went to inns to have a drink to ensure long flax fibres. It was customary to drink from the bottle to symbolize the length of flax.
It was advisable not to lick the fat from the fingers and not to clean your face after eating fatty pigs’ trotters (pig’s feet). This protected you from being cut with sharp instruments.
Traditional food was a soup of peas and beans, boiled pigs’ trotters.
NOWADAYS
Sledges, boards and plastic are used for sliding. People still speak about the length of flax but flax is very rarely grown in our fields. There is no longer any flax processing industry in Estonia. Children are taught to make humming tops using big buttons. Buns with whipped cream are eaten, also pigs’ trotters with pea or bean soup.
(source: http://eestikultuurist.ut.ee/rahvakalender/index.php/en/shrove-tuesday)
