“Aktus”, a well-worn Estonian word

Arvamus | 19 Feb 2002 | Laas LeivatEWR

In dictionary translation the meaning of “aktus” is festive meeting, public ceremony, speech day. Dictionaries do not do it justice, do not evoke the national emotions ascribed to it. The 24th of February has been an Estonian national holiday for 84 years, since it marks the commemoration of the Declaration of Independence in 1918 — 84 years for those Estonians living outside the boundaries of foreign occupation. During the years of Soviet rule, the date was secretly commemorated within closed family gatherings, hidden from the watchful eye of informants. Students in Tartu furtively placed flowers at the grave of Julius Kuperjanov, a hero who died in battle during the war of independence in 1919. The flowers were always quickly removed by the KGB who then interrogated suspected high school and university “hooligans”. Some were summarily dismissed from school and sentenced to “corrective education”. As late as February 1988, when the winds of liberalization in the USSR had already been blowing for a few years, Communist officials in Estonia warned people not to gather at the Tammsaare monument on February 24th, berated them for anti-Soviet tendencies and wrote disdainful newspaper articles about “radical nationalists” fomenting “bourgeois sentiments and public unrest”. Many of these same officials now self-confidently stalk the corridors of governmental and financial power at the highest levels. A few decades ago, Estonians at the Toronto February 24th “aktus” filled all of the levels of the 3000-seat Massey Hall. The guest speaker, in a traditionally hour-long presentation, reminded the audience not to abandon the struggle for a free Estonia, that justice in the end will prevail. Mass choirs, girl guides and boy scouts filled out the programme. They were solemn occasions tempered by feelings of hope and subdued anger. Local non-Estonian politicians swore allegiance to the cause through proclamations and dedications. Similar functions marked the day in towns and cities throughout the western world. With Estonia’s re-established independence in 1991, independence day is celebrated with official concerts, formal balls, a parade of defence force units reviewed by the president, a presidential reception, the guest list of which is closely scrutinized by the press to see who is “in” and who is “out”. In Toronto, independence day doesn’t generate festivities on such a grand scale. But it’s still the most important date on the annual calendar of events because the notion of freedom, of breaking the shackles of foreign domination is a predominant element within the Estonian national psyche. St. Andrew’s Estonian Lutheran Church, Jarvis and Carlton, Sunday, February 24th at 3:00 pm is the place to be this year. The guest speaker is Toomas Hendrik Ilves from Estonia, former foreign minister, voted European foreign minister of the year in 1998, a recognized thought-provoking, dynamic speaker. Amongst others, the Toronto Estonian Men’s Choir and mixed choir “Ööbik” grace the programme. Immediately following that “aktus” attend the honouring of veterans at Estonian House, 958 Broadview Avenue. LAAS LEIVAT

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