Estonian Consumer Price Decline Eased a 2nd Month in December

The decline in Estonia’s consumer prices slowed in December for a second consecutive month as fuel prices increased.

Consumer prices slid 1.7 percent from a year earlier, following a 2.1 percent decline in November, the Tallinn-based statistics office said on its Web site today. In the month, prices rose 0.1 percent, the first increase in four months.

The $23 billion economy has bottomed out after export demand rose and demand stabilized, the Finance Ministry and central bank have said. The smallest of the three Baltic states is set to become the euro region’s next member and targets adopting the single currency by 2011.

Estonia’s government raised taxes on alcohol, fuel and electricity from Jan. 1 to boost budget revenue and to stay on track with its euro adoption goal. Tax increases won’t spark a price rally because domestic demand is likely to remain weak, the central bank said last month.

Euro applicants need to keep inflation within 1.5 percentage points of the 12-month average inflation rate of the three EU nations with the slowest annual price growth, according to targets set out in the so-called Maastricht Treaty.

All articles

European Christmas markets: Tallinn

Currently in its eighth year, the Tallinn Christmas Market is one of Europe’s youngest markets. However, with the revival of the Christmas market tradition following the fall of the Soviet Union, organizers hope to make this Estonian festival one of the world’s best.

The Tallinn Christmas Market’s festive scene or colorful lights and music is enhanced by the city’s Old World charm. Centered around a massive Christmas tree, the market features 64 wooden stalls situated within Tallinn Town Hall Square’s wide open spaces.

In these quaint stalls, skilled artisans sell traditional and original wares including felt hats, slippers, buckwheat pillows, wooden bowls, wickerwork, hand-sewn quilts, knitted hats and scarves, cardigan sweaters, ceramics, glassware, homemade candles, and traditional Christmas wreaths.

Hungry shoppers can find a plentiful supply of Estonian holiday foods including pork, sauerkraut, blood sausage, hot soups, gingerbread, marzipan, black pudding, nuts, honey, cookies and sweets. Thirsty visitors can warm themselves with steaming mugs of hot mulled wine.

Santa Claus wanders through the market, meeting with visitors and his elves. Market mascots Scribble and Scrabble held guests find the Santa Claus House and Santa’s Post Office, where children can mail their Christmas letters.

Town Hall Square also hosts a variety of Christmas performances every Thursday and Friday from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. The programs feature a range of choirs, dance groups and musicians. Film screenings and poetry readings are also available.

Shoppers can also visit the new Rotermann Christmas Market, located a short distance from Tallinn’s Old Town area. An indoor market is available at the Rotermann Center and an outdoor market in Rotermann Square.

Other seasonal activities include the Open Air Museum’s Christmas Village, a Christmas bazaar at the Radisson Hotel Tallinn and Gourmet Delights at the NOP Cafe.

The Tallinn Christmas Market is open from November 29 through January 7, 2010. Market hours are daily, 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Shorter hours will be observed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Source http://examiner.com/x-10331-worldwide-travel-examiner~y2009m~

All articles

Anti-crisis Christmas cheer in Estonia

Locked in one of Europe's deepest recessions, Estonians in dire need of some anti-crisis cheer are flocking to their capital's annual Christmas market, a magnet for locals and tourists alike.

Spread across the centre of Tallinn's picturesque Old Town, the market showcases the hugely popular handicraft traditions of this small Baltic nation of 1.3 million people.

"Despite the recession there are plenty of customers. But you can see times are hard because of the increase in the number of thieves, who act quickly, like rabbits," Mahe Jarmut, a grandmother from the island of Saaremaa, wearing traditional costume and a sheepskin jerkin to fight off the winter chill, told AFP.

The Estonian economy is forecast to contract a whopping 14 percent this year after a spectacular boom turned to bust. After growth of 10.4 percent in 2006 and 6.3 percent in 2007, the economy started shrinking in 2008 as a property and credit bubble burst and consumption withered.

From her small wooden stall, Jarmut sells objects carved by her family from boiled and stripped juniper wood, from honey spoons to tables, with price tags from two to 160 euros (three and 230 dollars).

The Christmas market -- a custom in many European capitals -- is particularly vibrant in Tallinn, attracting between 150,000 and 200,000 people every season. Finns and Swedes seeking out goods cheaper than back home are big fans, as are neighboring Russians who've long flocked to this fairy tale destination.

"Around half our customers are foreigners," said stall holder Piret Lakspere.

She sells woollen and other wear inspired by traditional clothing of Nordic hunters, fishermen and sailors. In a possible antidote to recession blues, some "contain symbols believed to protect the wearer from harm and bad luck," she said.

And to beat the winter blues, other stalls sell spiced hot wine and traditional Estonian Christmas fare of pork, black pudding and sauerkraut.

The square around Tallinn's town hall has been a trading hub for centuries.

It is also reputed to have been the site of the first recorded Christmas tree, raised in 1441 as part of a winter ritual where unmarried merchants and single women danced around the tree and later set it on fire.

Despite hard times, traders again snapped up the little Christmas huts, which stand for a month and one week, until January 7 to cater to the Russians who celebrate Orthodox Christmas on that date.

The huts rent for the equivalent of 2,400 euros -- a hefty sum more than three times the average monthly Estonian salary, but a once-a-year opportunity for small-time craftsmen to make a killing, given the market's popularity.

Transport firms running coaches from the Russian city of Saint Petersburg have this year even boosted their service by 60 percent.

"I work here from morning to evening every day without a break," said Jarmut. "I miss Christmas and New Years Eve with my family on the island, but I don't complain -- this is my share for the wellbeing of our family."

All articles