Continuing Estonian culture in a new place

One of the biggest struggles when planning a jaanipäev party for Estonians in Australia is the fire safety regulations, which make it difficult to have a traditional bonfire.

Viktoria Saar, president of the EstWest NGO, which represents Estonians in Western Australia, said: "We try to keep the core feeling and meaning of Estonian traditions, while adapting the way we deliver them, so they fit safely and naturally into a local context."

"For jaanipäev, the most important parts are still there — the bonfire, singing, folk dancing, traditional food, sauna, and spending time together outdoors. These are the elements that carry the meaning of the celebration for Estonians everywhere," she told ERR News.

The annual celebration – which does not take place at midsummer in the southern hemisphere – is a popular one, reliably drawing between 150 and 200 people. The atmosphere is "relaxed and family-friendly," said Saar, who has helped organize the activities.

Last year, the numbers were considerably higher when a joint event was organized with the Latvian and Lithuanian communities. Saar said 350 people attended and around 100 people were on the waiting list.

Over the last 15 years, there has been a generational shift in who attends the events.

"The event now brings together a mix of long-term residents, young families, and new generations born in Australia. For many parents, it is important that children who are born here still have the chance to experience Estonian celebrations in a meaningful and joyful way, even if they are growing up far from Estonia," Saar said.

But there is still a core group of adults and professionals who "still feel a strong connection to Estonia and a sense of homesickness around jaanipäev."

Australians are also welcome to "experience what it's like 'to be Estonian for the day'." Saar said the celebrations have become "something shared rather than exclusive" as many of the group's Estonian members are Australians or have Australian-born children.

"Over time, we've found that Australian friends really enjoy being part of it too — especially when they're invited to experience it in a "join in and try it" way rather than just observing," she told ERR News.

Speaking about the importance of celebrating the tradition far from home, Saar said: "Jaanipäev also brings people together in a very natural way — Estonians, friends, and the wider Australian community — and reminds us that culture doesn't disappear with distance, it just adapts and continues in a new place."

Canada's Suvihari ushers in summer

Seedrioru is one of three camp properties across Southern Ontario that has served the Toronto-Estonian diaspora for generations. It has also hosted the community's longest-running Midsummer celebration, Suvihari, since 1955.

Suvihari gives area Estonians the chance to celebrate Midsummer in the countryside, "just as Estonians have done for centuries," organizers said, with a summer festival that celebrates Estonian heritage, community "and the timeless traditions of jaanipäev."

It's a highlight of the Canadian Estonian social calendar, but over the years has also drawn guests with local ties from across the U.S. Northeast.

The weekend's formal program includes choir and folk dance performances, a commemorative Victory Day ceremony, and live music by acts ranging from diaspora legends Peeter Kopvillem and Rosemarie Lindau to Estonia's Kukerpillid and Tõnis Mägi.

At the heart of the weekend is the lighting of the traditional jaanituli, or Midsummer bonfire, but people often camp out or stay in nearby family cottages to fully enjoy the weekend, which also includes Estonian food, a handicrafts market, swimming and a volleyball tournament.

In 2024, it also included the IX Seedrioru Song Festival, another long-running diaspora event that has evolved into an informal dress rehearsal ahead of the Estonian Song Festival in Tallinn the following year.

The weekend event serves as a fundraiser for Seedrioru Estonian Children's Summer Camp, which has remained a pivotal diaspora hub for generations.

"Former Seedrioru camper Eva Varangu once came to visit her younger sister at camp, who introduced her to Peeter Kopvillem, the camp's music teacher," said Merike Koger, recalling just one example of an Estonian family who met there. "They were married some years later, at Seedrioru."

A 'wonderful atmosphere' in Bradford, England

At the Eesti Kodu in Bradford, northern England, every effort is made to celebrate midsummer "as is done in Estonia," said Trustee Paul Ratnik, the main organizer of the community's jaanipidu. This includes the traditional bonfire, live Estonian music, communal singing, a grill, and a games, such as tug of war.

"We feel it is very important to celebrate jaanipäev as we are one of only three Estonian centers in the UK and the only one that still opens numerous times a week," he said. The Estonian Club in Bradford was founded in 1956 by displaced Estonian refugees after World War II.

"We still fund and organize Independence Day, Jaanipäev and Christmas parties with the sole intention of bringing people together with Estonian connections."

Most of the recent Jaanipäev events have been free, with fundraising events taking place throughout the year, such as a tombola or raffle with Estonian prizes.

Ratnik said the Bradford club has the best grounds for organizing a large outdoor event, and the Estonian community around the UK always look to see what they are planning.

"They expect us to put on a good celebration and we feel we must do our best to please all," he added.

Those who attended are a mix of long-standing members, their families and friends, and new arrivals from Estonia who moved to the UK over the last 20 years.

"Lots of people travel long distances to attend Bradford Jaanipäev as it is a great family event," Ratnik said.

In the past, performances at big events were put on by the club's drama, dance and choir groups, but times have changed and there is "practically no one left from within the long-standing community." Instead, the committee invites Estonian acts to visit Bradford.

Ratnik said little effort is made to blend Estonian and UK customs. He told ERR News: "We don't need to, it is an Estonian celebration and that is that. If visitors want someone to sing English songs then they can get off to the local pub."  

He described the event as having a "wonderful atmosphere."

"We welcome and try to involve everybody in the event and make an effort to speak to all visitors about where they have travelled from in the UK and their Estonian connection," the trustee said.

"We want everyone who visits our family-friendly club to see and feel what this place has meant to so many Estonian families for over 70 years. It is our duty as custodians of this wonderful center to respect its amazing history and the people before us – our parents and grandparents, the founding members – many who never lived to see a free Estonia." 

Jaanipäev in San Francisco

Much like in Estonia, Midsummer is a chance for Bay Area Estonians take time off and head outdoors, often at someone's home out of town.

"Sometimes someone with a piece of land will invite others for camping, swimming, hiking, music around the campfire and a low-key time together," said San Francisco Estonian Society (SFES) board member Linnea Bartling.

"Jaanipäev is first and foremost an opportunity to unwind and connect with friends and family," she said, adding that a relaxed atmosphere is key. But with high wildfire risks, a bigger jaanituli is often out of the question.

"You can't have a bonfire during California's dry season, which can now be year-round," she explained. "One of the only safe places to have a fire is on the beach."

This year, Midsummer will look a little different.

Organized on a rotating basis between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, the 36th West Coast Estonian Days (LEP) will be hosted in San Francisco, with an all-ages folk festival standing in for more scattered Midsummer gatherings held in other years.

Bartling, who also serves the organizing Estonian League of the West Coast (ELWC), said the folk festival will include elements of Estonian song and dance festivals, folk games, traditional flower crowns and more.

Like bigger annual Midsummer celebrations in other diaspora communities, the event will draw performers and guests from as far as the U.S. East Coast, Sweden and even Estonia.

Bartling said keeping up cultural traditions makes for a nice change from people's everyday lives.

"Sometimes as Estonians abroad, we may feel we have to work to keep our identity," she acknowledged. "But celebrating jaanipäev and the summer solstice comes naturally, and is easy to share with others."

Long Island's jaanid for all

Halfway between Manhattan and the Hamptons, the Long Island Estonian House and campground in Middle Island, New York, hosts one of North America's longest-running diaspora Estonian Midsummer celebrations.

Eventually merged with the also annual Sports Day event, Long Island's jaanipäev-spordipäev weekend combines amateur sports with traditional Midsummer festivities, including a bonfire so big the local fire department is always in attendance with a bright yellow fire truck — just in case.

In recent years, the event has exploded in popularity, with visiting Estonian acts like NOËP and Zetod boosting the appeal.

New York Estonian Education Society (NYEHS) cultural manager Elke-Liisa Lõhmus says the Long Island Midsummer weekend has turned into a "real destination event," attracting Estonians from further across the U.S. and even Canada.

Attendees range from more recent immigrants to young second-generation diaspora parents now bringing their own kids to their childhood summer home-away-from-home, bridging gaps between generations and different waves of Estonian arrivals.

Coupled with performances by the local New York Estonian Mixed Choir and folk dance troupe Saare Vikat, a Victory Day commemoration, flower crowns and traditional games, Lõhmus said the all-ages mix and touches of folk traditions help recreate the atmosphere of Midsummer just as it's celebrated in Estonia.

The event also helps reconnect those who may not have attended community gatherings in years. "They come to watch their kids and friends perform," she added.

Each year, the highlight of the weekend in Long Island is a massive jaanituli.

But in a uniquely New York twist, this year's Midsummer bonfire was all but upstaged as revelers gathered outside the main hall late that Saturday night to watch the New York Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5, bringing home the NBA championship title for the first time in 53 years.

Estonia's NOËP DJed the afterparty to follow, with a setlist spanning from Frank Sinatra's legendary "New York, New York" to remixes of Estonian folk-pop favorites Curly Strings hits.

For longtime NYEHS treasurer and New York native Kaarel Laev, the moment marked a homecoming in more ways than one, as this was his first time back in Long Island for Midsummer in a decade.

"Never would've guessed in a million years that this is where and how I'd see this long dry stretch end, but I loved it," Laev said. "Today was, after all, not just jaanipäev but also spordipäev, right? We saved the best sports for last."

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