In the photo, the Giants are singing the hymn at the Reigi rectory in 2021. Photo: Urmas Lauri
On the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, February 24, at 1 p.m., Hiidians will gather at the Reig rectory to sing the Estonian national anthem and invite everyone who loves Estonia to join them.
“Bring your friends and join in the song in a lovely place in your neighborhood, whether it’s a church, a community center, a memorial to the War of Independence, a dam or a memorial bench of a famous person,” said Antti Leigri, the leader of the anthem singing.
You can announce your participation in the singing well in advance in the Facebook group “The birthplace of the Estonian national anthem calls – February 24, 2024 – let’s sing the Estonian national anthem together”, where photos and videos of the national anthem being sung from all over Estonia are expected.
For the fifth year, Hiidians have been gathering to sing at the Reigi rectory, which has a close connection with the birth story of the hymn. In 1868, the Reiki teacher Gustav Felix Rinne published the song “Hioma- or issamaa laul” in the style of Friedrich Pacius. In 1869, Johann Voldemar Jannsen, a great figure of the awakening period, wrote the words “My country, my happiness and joy” in the same way that became the national anthem of Finland.
“I find it remarkable that Jannsen and Rinne wrote heart-touching words in the same way,” said Kaie Tanner, CEO of the Estonian Choir Association. “We went to the Reigi rectory in the summer with the choral association’s cultural history bike tour and sang Rinne’s song from Hioma. It was a good memory.”
The Reigi rectory building dates from 1775-1779 and is an outstanding baroque building in Hiiumaa next to Suuremõisa castle. The story of Aino Kallas’s “Reigi teacher” belongs to our cultural history, as well as Herman Sergo’s “Näkimadalas” related to the Reigi Church. Tõnu Õnnepalu, one of Estonia’s best-known modern writers, lived in this house. Reigi’s rectory deserves to be organized in order to open an exhibition introducing the history of the Estonian national anthem.
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Gallery: Indians sang the anthem at its birthplace in Reig
Gallery: Indians once again sang the national anthem at its birthplace in Reig