Tallin is hosting the 1st World Fire Sculpture Championship, welcoming fire sculpture masters from South-Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, France, Mexico, the USA, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The first round took place yesterday, starting with the presentation/burning of the sculptures.

The city is also holding its Light Festival, which this month will be celebrated for the 11th time. The focal point of the celebration is the play of light and fire, which involves burning fire sculptures and Christmas trees.

The festival forms part of the programme of activities in Tallinn which is the European Capital of Culture this year.

According to Tallin’s history, in 1441 a Christmas tree was set up in the Town Hall Square, making it the site of the world’s first public Christmas tree. Based on this, it can be said that Tallinn is the home of the public Christmas tree tradition.

Balthasar Russow, a 16th century chronicler, described the citizens Christmas traditions in 1584 thus: “So the citizens and the guild members celebrated heavily during Christmas and on Shrove Tuesday. After the guild members had finished with their drinking events and the fast had started, they erected a big, tall Christmas tree, decorated with roses, on the market place in the middle of the city. Late in the evening they went to the market place with a group of women and maidens, they sang and danced and then lit the tree on fire and the flames blazed in the dark night very strongly. The guild members then took each other by the hand and danced in couples around the tree and the fire.”

The Tallin Light Festival encourages citizens to bring their Christmas trees after the holidays to the festival collection points. The Christmas trees will be used for building fire sculptures.