Anthology of Estonian Traditional Music

Sung by masked mummers on St. Catherine's Day Eve (November 24^th):

Let the Catherine mummers enter,
Catherine, Catherine
Catherine's fingernails are freezing,
Catherine's toes are aching.
The Catherine mummers come from a distant land,
across bogs, and across marshes,
over five rainbows,
over three dawns,
around the moon all bent,
around the sun so round.
The moon was playing with baubles there,
dusk with silver beads,
the sun was playing with pearls there.

Let the Catherine mummers enter!
Catherine does not want a lamb,
Catherine wants the lamb's wool,
she's begging for a tuft of linen,
asking for lace for her leather slippers,
she wants a tuft of tow.

Let the Catherine mummers enter!
Daughter of the house, dear maiden,
daughter of the farm, sweet flower
get up from your beds,
off the good pillows.
Lift silently the edge of your blanket,
step quietly onto the floor,
dash through the smoke,
rush through the fumes,
get to the hearth in three steps,
on five toes get to the wall rack,
take a splinter of wood from the rack,
if there is no splinter in the rack,
take a billet off the beam,
if there is no billet on the beam,
take a sliver from the pole,
if there is no sliver in the pole,
take some birchbark from the ceiling,
if there is no birchbark in the ceiling,
take some moss from between the walls,
if there is no moss between the walls,
light your fingers on fire,
there has to be light in the room!

Let the Catherine mummers enter!
Catherine will bring luck to your yard,
bride luck to the son of the house,
groom luck for the daughter of the house,
pig luck onto the pier,
lamb luck into the sheep fold,
colt luck into the horse stall,
cow luck into the barnyard.
Whoever the Catherines dance for,
dark oxen will arise there,
cows so hefty and low,
sheep with curly fleece,
pigs so long and slender.

Catherine's father comes from Hiiumaa,
Catherine's sons come from Poland,
Catherine herself is from a distant land.