Birthdays are approached fundamentally differently in Estonia compared to Canada and the United States. In Estonia, the birthday boy or girl treats all the others. In Canada, when a co-worker has a birthday, his or her friends at work would announce that the “birthday child” is being taken out to the local bar or pub, and all of the co-workers who come along understand the deal. The co-workers pay for themselves (any food or drinks consumed) plus a little more so that the birthday boy or girl does not have to pay for his or her drinks and food. Birthdays are to be enjoyed by the birthday child.
If you are out of luck and no one else has a birthday around the date of your birthday, you must go it alone.
In Estonia, the person celebrating their birthday is expected to organize and fund the party. If you are lucky, you’ll find a colleague who has a birthday close to yours and you organize and fund the party together. If you are out of luck and no one else has a birthday around the date of your birthday, you must go it alone.
At a minimum, you will need to bake or bring some food in. Preferably in the morning so that your colleagues will have something to eat all day. If you are a little higher up the ladder at your place of employment, you will be expected to prepare or foot the bill for an entire meal from snacks, sandwiches, fish, and ham rolls (singi rullid), to the de rigeur potato salad (kartulisalat), perhaps some rosolje (cold beet and herring salad). This is to be topped off with, ideally, two cakes, one of which is the required kringel (a large pretzel-shaped sweet bread).
If one really wants to win over their colleagues, a few bottles of bubbly (prossecco is the go to) is always appreciated. It does not need to be stated, then, that most of the office is working under the influence. As Depeche Mode states in their famous song “It’s No Good”, this is understood. As I teach part-time, it always surprises me that the prosecco bottles are empty by noon. It makes me wonder how Estonia can maintain its high PISA educational scores.
Fingers crossed that the productivity analysis team from McKinsey management consultants does not visit that day.
If one is in a senior management position, you will be expected to finance and organize a lavish spread of food so that no one has to leave the office for lunch that day. Wine is expected. Note: supplying cognac is also advisable. It goes well with coffee, be it in the morning or afternoon. Fingers crossed that the productivity analysis team from McKinsey management consultants does not visit that day.
On top of all of that, when the poor birthday boy or girl reaches home that evening, his or her family will expect a repeat of the earlier events of the day.
In fairness, the organization of a party is not that one sided. Colleagues may organize a collection, or the company may have a policy of funding birthday presents. Some small present is often given to the birthday child, ranging from a company umbrella to a massage gift certificate or a free pass to a spa.
Don’t forget a catered dinner, even better if its prepared by a well known chef.
If you are someone special in Estonian society and you are celebrating a jubilee birthday (e.g. 50th or 60th), then the expectation is that you will celebrate it in style and not at home (unless of course you own a manor house or mõis). An expensive restaurant will do, but the preferred choice is some larger venue where you will hire numerous performers, including a well known singer, perhaps a comedian to be the MC for the evening, and a DJ to play music to dance to late into the night. Don’t forget a catered dinner, even better if its prepared by a well known chef. The evening would begin with champagne flowing freely, followed by old world wines, and would finish with… you guess it, some XO cognac.
As you can see, birthdays are not taken lightly in Estonia. Still, most, but not all, birthday boys and girls make it to work the next day.
