A Magical Christmas in Kassari
In December, the nights are longer than the days. The sun stays low, darkness arrives early, and the island grows wonderfully quiet. And perhaps that is exactly why the light we create ourselves becomes so much more meaningful.
At Hiiumaa Summerhouse in Kassari, Christmas means candles glowing in the windows, a fire in the fireplace and warm light against the dark winter evening. Outside, everything is still. And if we are lucky, a fresh blanket of snow makes the world around the house even quieter.
Heat up the sauna. Take a long walk through wintery Kassari and come back with cold cheeks to a warm house. Read a book by the fire. Bake something delicious. Put Christmas dinner in the oven and let the house fill with those familiar scents that somehow belong only to this time of year.
Stay around the table a little longer. Perhaps that is what Christmas is really about.
Christmas Eve at Kassari Chapel
There is one moment that makes Christmas in Kassari particularly special. As evening falls on Christmas Eve, people make their way to the little historic Kassari Chapel.
There is no electricity in the chapel. On this night, none is needed. Candles are lit and the old candle chandeliers begin to glow. Slowly, people from the surrounding villages arrive. Familiar faces greet one another and everyone finds a place on the old wooden benches.
Then the service begins. There is a sermon. There are Christmas hymns. There is candlelight and a small island community gathered together.
Outside is the deep darkness of a Hiiumaa winter night. Inside, the little chapel is filled with light. It is one of those experiences that is difficult to capture in a photograph or fully explain in words. You simply have to be there.
Winter Nights in Kassari
After the service, you make your way back through the dark Kassari night. Hiiumaa in winter is not about having a long list of things to do or places to visit. It is about experiencing the island at its quietest.
The roads are empty. The landscape feels bigger. The sea, the weather and the changing light become part of your day.
Take a sauna. Cook Christmas dinner. Stay around the table long after the meal is finished. Read by the fire. Go for a walk with no particular destination.
A Different Kind of Christmas
If you are looking for where to spend Christmas in Hiiumaa, perhaps the answer isn’t a place with more things to do. Perhaps it is a place where you can do less.
Summerhouse is our holiday home in the small village of Orjaku on Kassari – a place surrounded by nature, close to the sea and far enough from everyday life to make you slow down.
Christmas here doesn’t need much. It needs a warm house,
a sauna, something good cooking in the oven, a fire in the fireplace, a walk through the winter landscape, a candlelit chapel on Christmas Eve.
And time with the people you actually want to be with.
Sometimes the greatest luxury is simply light, warmth, silence and time.
That is Christmas at Hiiumaa Summerhouse.
