Christmas wishes for in-laws USA families love to send at the holidays carry warmth, gratitude, and a little American cheer. Whether you are writing to your mother-in-law in Texas, your father-in-law in Ohio, or your brother-in-law and sister-in-law across the country, the right words can make the family dinner feel even closer. This list brings together heartfelt, funny, and short messages made for American homes, snowy mornings, and long drives home for Christmas. In-laws become family in the truest sense at Christmas. They welcome you to the table, share treasured recipes, cheer for the same football team, and help trim the tree. A thoughtful wish thanks them for that welcome and tells them how much their love means through the year. Use these 45 wishes in a card, a text, a holiday letter, or a toast at the table. Pick one that fits your family, add a personal line about a shared memory, and send it early so it arrives before the turkey is carved and the eggnog is poured. Last up...
Christmas traditions in Estonia blend ancient Nordic Yule rituals with warm modern customs, from steamy Christmas Eve saunas to elves who leave candy in children's slippers. Known as Jõulud, the holiday centers on Christmas Eve (Jõululaupäev).
The word jõulud comes from the Old Scandinavian jul, the pagan midwinter feast — the folk birthday of the sun. The season traditionally ran from St. Thomas's Day (December 21) to Epiphany (January 6).
Modern Estonia keeps those roots alive. Families leave the Christmas Eve table set for ancestors' spirits, light candles at family graves, and visit the sauna before dinner. Tallinn's Old Town stages a famous Christmas market at Raekoja plats.
Below are the 15 best Christmas traditions in Estonia, from Jõuluvana's gift visits and piparkoogid baking parties to the sauna ritual and market magic. Häid jõule! — enjoy the tour.
Last updated: September 19, 2026
Jump to: Jõulud Season · 15 Best Traditions · Tallinn Market · Sauna · Christmas Dinner · Piparkoogid · Jõuluvana · Winter Festivities · FAQ
Jõulud: Estonia's Christmas Season
Jõulud is a season, not a day. Estonia's Christmas period begins on Toomasepäev (St. Thomas's Day, December 21) — the folk winter solstice — and runs to Epiphany on January 6. The birthday of the sun, homes marked it by brewing ale and keeping fires lit all night.
The 15 Best Christmas Traditions in Estonia
These fifteen customs are the living heart of an Estonian Christmas.
- Celebrate Christmas Eve — Jõululaupäev (December 24) hosts the big dinner and gifts.
- Open the season on Toomasepäev — St. Thomas's Day, December 21, the birthday of the sun.
- Leave slippers on the windowsill — the päkapikk elf fills them with candy nightly.
- Set the table for ancestors — the Christmas Eve spread stays laid for visiting spirits.
- Take the Christmas Eve sauna — purify body and soul in the afternoon steam.
- Light candles at family graves — a quiet Christmas Eve visit honors those before us.
- Bring straw indoors — hay symbolizes fertility; children once tumbled across it.
- Perform for your presents — recite a poem or sing before Jõuluvana opens his bag.
- Feast on verivorst — blood sausage with lingonberry sauce stars on every table.
- Serve roast pork and hapukapsas — sauerkraut, baked potatoes, and jõuluõlu.
- Bake piparkoogid together — families cut, bake, and ice gingerbread figures as a group.
- Warm up with hõõgvein — mulled wine keeps hands warm on snowy evening strolls.
- Wander the Tallinn Christmas market — glowing stalls at Raekoja plats.
- Salute the first Christmas tree — Tallinn's 1441 records may mark Europe's oldest public tree.
- Stretch the season — visit relatives and neighbors until Epiphany.
Tallinn Christmas Market at Raekoja Plats
Set on Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) in Tallinn's medieval Old Town, this is Estonia's most famous Christmas market. Wooden stalls sell verivorst, sauerkraut, mulled wine, and crafts beneath a towering tree, with a carousel and small zoo.
Records from 1441 describe a decorated tree raised here by the Brotherhood of Blackheads — celebrated as Europe's first public Christmas tree.
The Christmas Eve Sauna
After the house is cleaned and cooking is underway, Estonian families take to the sauna on Christmas Eve afternoon. The ritual steam bath — shared quietly with close family — purifies body and soul before jõulud's sacred hours begin.
Estonian Christmas Dinner: Verivorst, Hapukapsas & Roast Pork
Estonian Christmas food is hearty Baltic comfort food for the longest nights of winter; the classics never change:
- Verivorstid — blood sausages with cranberry sauce
- Seapraad — roast pork with crackling, the centerpiece
- Hapukapsas — sauerkraut, the tangy partner to rich pork
- Oven-baked potatoes — crisp and golden
- Sült — meat in jelly
- Potato salad with beetroot — sweet, pink, festive
- Pâté and pickles — festive nibbles
- Jõuluõlu and hõõgvein — Christmas beer and mulled wine
Piparkoogid and Sweet Treats
Piparkoogid — thin, crisp Estonian gingerbread — are the sweetest symbol of jõulud. Baking them is a communal ritual: families and friends gather to roll dough, cut figures, and decorate with icing swirls.
How to Host a Piparkoogid Baking Party
Roll spiced dough thin, cut festive shapes — stars, hearts, goats, and pigs are traditional — and bake until crisp. Ice with white swirls, and serve with marzipan from Kalev, Estonia's famous confectioner.
Jõuluvana, Päkapikk and Gift-Giving
Jõuluvana — the "Old Man Jul" — is Estonia's Father Christmas, visiting on Christmas Eve with a huge bag of gifts. Legend says he travels from Finland on a reindeer sleigh, and every gift must be earned: guests recite a poem, sing, or dance before the bag opens.
His helpers are the päkapikud — forest elves who fill children's slippers with sweets each night from December 1.
Winter Festivities Beyond Christmas Day
Estonian festivity continues past December 25. Families attend the Christmas church service (jõulumissa), then visit relatives and neighbors in a rolling celebration lasting to Epiphany. Outdoors, winter capital Otepää offers snow-tubing and reindeer encounters, while snowy bogs draw walkers and skiers.
FAQs About Christmas in Estonia
When is Christmas celebrated in Estonia?
Christmas Eve (Jõululaupäev), December 24, hosts the main dinner and gift-giving; Christmas Day is quiet.
What does Jõuluvana mean?
Old Man Jul — Estonia's Father Christmas, delivering gifts after guests perform for them.
What is verivorst?
Estonian blood sausage of pork blood, barley, and pork, served with cranberry or lingonberry sauce.
Why do Estonians visit the sauna on Christmas Eve?
The ritual sauna purifies body and soul, washing away the old year so Christmas starts fresh and pure.
How do you say Merry Christmas in Estonian?
Say "Häid jõule!" — literally "Good Christmases," since Christmas is plural in Estonian.
More Christmas Inspiration
Keep exploring European Christmas traditions:
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