A traditional Estonian wedding organised in Saaremaa for international students
On May 22-24 2015, an event called Estonian Wedding in Saaremaa will be organized by Erasmus Student Network Estonia. The idea of the event is to introduce Estonian wedding traditions to international participants
The event will bring together around 100 international students currently studying in Estonia and guests from abroad. The idea of the event is to introduce Estonian wedding traditions to the participants by simulating a wedding the way it is done in many high schools at the end of the last year and during summer camps but this time, two International students will be wed.
The aim is to offer the international students an experience that they would never be a part of anywhere else in the world, to maintain and introduce Estonian wedding traditions and also thus integrate International students to Estonian society. Folk dances and songs will feature and all participants have been given roles of their own – bride “kidnappers”, wedding crashers, chief of the village, etc.
In previous years, a French girl and a German guy (who were a real life couple) and a Russian girl and Italian guy have been “married”. Sara, the French bride, later said that probably her own real wedding will not be as incredible as her simulated wedding was in Saaremaa.
ESN Estonia is a part of the biggest student organisation in Europe, Erasmus Student Network, which is present in 37 countries and more than 400 higher education institutions. The aim of ESN is to welcome international students at their host country, make sure that they have plenty of different events to choose from to fill their spare time with and by doing this, ensure that students who find themselves in an environment foreign to them, feel more comfortable and more like a part of the local community. In Estonia, more than 100 volunteers work for the benefit of international students. The main principle of Erasmus Student Network is simple: students helping students.
Editor: S. Tambur