On Saturday afternoon, December 8, 2018, about 55 members of the Estonian Society of Central Florida (Kesk Florida Eesti Selts – KFES) gathered at the beautiful home of Kaie Põhi Latterner in North Redington Beach (FL) to celebrate a traditional Estonian Christmas.
Well almost. A white ibis, Santa’s Florida navigator, guided Jõuluvana to Kaie’s home (can you spot him on the roof?), which is located about a block away from a white sandy beach. The weather was spectacular with 80 degrees and a clear blue sky. We filled Kaie’s home to the brim and, thankfully, we were able to spread outside to the beautiful poolside and waterside setting. Once the sun set, hardy members gathered fireside. Palm trees instead of pine trees swayed in the background.
We welcomed Jõuluvana with song. Children delighted in his arrival. At first, Santa needed to wait patiently for the first daring child to come forward. And things rolled easily from there. Brook Cabrera found a comfortable seat in Santa’s warm embrace on his lap (photo). Our hostesses serenaded Jõuluvana with their own special song, Living in a Florida Wonderland, sung of course to the tune of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. We’ll be adding that special song to our song sheet next year.
KFES extends a HUGE thank-you to three extraordinary women who made this event so special. Kaie Põhi Latterner once again generously opened her home to our group. Anneliis Kuusik and Virve Kai Bulla were tireless in executing all the complicated logistics. We also thank our members for all their special contributions. Verivorst was contributed from those making our traditional Christmas sausage in the kitchens of Maare Kuuskvere and Kaie Põhi Latterner. Special treats came from the Sunne Säre and Märten Vaikmaa kitchen: traditional Estonian sauerkraut and a non-traditional delicious chocolate cake with sauerkraut as its special ingredient!
We started at 2:00 pm. What time did this revelry all end? Well, after some more singing accompanied by Kaie on the accordion and quiet time over drinks seated around the outdoor fire pit, our last guest went home about 10:00 pm. That broke last year’s record. Take a look at our gallery of photos at floridaestos.blog. We hope they will entice you to join us next year! In the meantime, we wish you häid pühi!
Lisa A. Mets
