The different historical rulers of the region - Danes, Swedes, Germans and Russians - have influenced Estonian traditional cuisine over the centuries.Modern cuisine, eating habits, food, and ways of cooking are similar to those in other Nordic countries.
Christmas time is still the most important holiday celebrated in Estonia. For Estonians, Christmas is a mixture of the traditional, the modern, the secular, and the religious. Like in other Nordic states, Estonia's celebration of Christmas mostly falls on Christmas Eve, however, Christmas season starts from Advent with people buying Advent calendars or lighting Advent candles. Each year on December 24, the President of Estonia declares Christmas Peace, which is a 350-year-old tradition in Estonia.
Estonia has a long, indented and diverse coastline of 3,794 km. In western Estonia, rising land slowly and steadily creates new coastal wetlands, which appear as shallow bays and inlets, coastal lagoons and marshes, or coastal meadows and mud flats.