Heathen holidays
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In the modern Pagan movement of Heathenry there are a number of holidays celebrated by different groups and individuals. The most widely observed are based on ancient Germanic practices described in historical accounts or folk practices however some adherents also incorporate innovations from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Pre-Christian Germanic holidays and their modern observance[edit]
Prior to Christianisation and the introduction of the Julian calendar, the Germanic peoples used a lunisolar calendar, that was used to coordinate heathen seasonal festivals and holy periods. These included the Álfablót, Dísablót, Veturnáttablót and Blōtmōnaþ at the beginning of winter, Yule and Mōdraniht around Midwinter, and Hrēþmōnaþ and Sigrblót in the summer half of the year.[1]
Beyond these, Adam of Bremen's account of the Temple at Uppsala describes a great festival that was held every nine years, however it has been argued that this would have been using inclusive counting and would thus have occurred every eight years by modern counting conventions.[2][1]
Modern Heathens can celebrate a number of these festivals, with Winter Nights, Yule and Sigrblót being among the most widely observed, however the date is typically adjusted so that it falls on a weekend.[3][4]
Modern development[edit]
The modern Icelandic festival of Þorrablót is sometimes considered a "pagan holiday" due to folk etymology with the name of the god Thor.[5] The name, while historically attested, is derived from Þorri which is not explicitly linked to Thor, instead being the name of a month in the historic Icelandic calendar and a legendary Finnish king.[6][7] Despite this, toasts to Thor are commonly included in the modern celebration.[8]
Beyond the information about historical practice given in Early Medieval sources, some Heathens use modern festival calendars that incorporate material from other new religious movements such as the "Wheel of the Year" popular in Wicca.[9] This practice is criticised by other Heathens, however, due to its origin in the 20th century and its lack of connection to historical celebrations.[10]
In addition to this, several groups in the USA have designated holidays throughad hoc innovation, such as the various "Days of Remembrance" introduced by The Troth or "Vali's Day", derived from Valentine's Day by a folk etymology connection with the deity Váli.[11]
Suggestions for rituals suited for these various holidays were published by Edred Thorsson, A Book of Troth (1989) and by Kveldulf Gundarsson, Teutonic Religion (1993). James Chisholm (1989) published a suggestion for Ostara.[12] Chisholm argued for the reconstruction of the "sacred dramas" which he saw reflected in some Eddaic poems, although shorn of their sexual content by the Christian redactors. The revived neopagan ritual was again to be modified to suit "contemporary American sensibilities".[13]
Specific modern calendars[edit]
The Troth (USA)[edit]
The handbook Our Troth in its second edition, published by American-based inclusionary heathen organization The Troth in 2006, lists eight festivals: Yule, Þorrablót, Idis-Þing, Ostara (Sigrblót), Waluburg's Night, Midsummer, Loaf-Fest (Freyfaxi) and Winter-Nights (Alf-Blessing, Idis-Blessing, Frey-Blessing). These eight festivals are not, however, evenly distributed throughout the year as the Wiccan "Wheel of the Year". The handbook takes as its starting-point the statement in the Heimskringla on the three major holidays, Winter Nights, Yule, and Sigrblót (identified with Ostara), set in October, December and April, respectively. Midsummer is added as a fourth festival in the absence of Eddaic evidence because its popularity in modern Scandinavian folklore. The remaining four holidays are listed as the "lesser blessings".[14] In addition, Our Troth cites a number of "Days of Remembrance" dedicated to various historical and legendary figures such as Unnr the Deep-Minded, Radbod, King of the Frisians and Egill Skallagrímsson.
| Date | Holiday | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Late December (winter solstice) | Yule (Midwinter) | One of the "three greatest blessings of the year" mentioned in the Ynglinga saga |
| Late January / early February | Þorrablót | One of the "lesser blessings"; mentioned in Hversu Noregr byggðist, in modern Icelandic folklore associated with Thor |
| Late February / early March | Disting | One of the "lesser blessings"; the Heimskringla mentions this as a Swedish tradition originally lasting for a week during the month of Góa, but later moved to Candlemas and reduced to three days' duration. |
| April | Ostara (Sigrblót) | Sigrblót is one of the "three greatest blessings of the year" mentioned in the Ynglinga saga, celebrated "for victory". Ostara in Wiccan tradition is set at vernal equinox; the historical Sigrblót marks the beginning of summer and the campaign season. The historical lunar month of Eostre may coincide with the Paschal Full Moon. |
| Late June (summer solstice) | Midsummer | Included as part of Scandinavian folklore |
| 1 August | Lammas (Freyfaxi) | One of the "lesser blessings"; The name Lammas or "Loaf-fest" refers to an Anglo-Saxon festival of the wheat harvest; the name "Freyfaxi" refers to the horse dedicated to Freyr in Hrafnkels saga and means "Mane of Freyr". |
| Mid October | Winter Nights (Vetrnætr) | One of the "three greatest blessings of the year" mentioned in the Ynglinga saga. The historical festival marked the beginning of winter, and involved sacrifices to the elves and the dísir. In Neopaganism also observed as a Festival of the Dead and as such associated with Wiccan Samhain on 31 October.[15] |
Asatru Free Folk Assembly (USA)[edit]
Below are holidays observed by Asatru Free Assembly, founded in 1974 by Stephen McNallen now called Asatru Folk Assembly which go by the solstices and not the historical lunisolar calendar. While some Asatru Folk Assembly holidays reference traditional material, they are in practice renamed Wiccan holidays, and do not typically correspond to historical practice.[citation needed]
Listed below are a comparison of the holidays celebrated by Wiccans and Asatru Folk Assembly:
| Date | Wiccan sabbath | Heathen equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 21 December ( Saturnalia solstice) |
Yule | Yule |
| 2 February | Imbolc | February 14 / Valis Day |
| 21 / 25 March (Vernal equinox / Ostara) |
Ostara | Summer Finding |
| 1 May (May Day) |
Beltane | April 30 - May 1 Baulder’s Night |
| 21 June (Summer Solstice) |
Midsummer | Midsummer |
| 1 August (Lammas) |
Lugnasad | August 2 - Harvest Feast |
| 21 / 29 Sept (Autumnal equinox / St. Michael's) |
Mabon | Winter Finding |
| 31 October (All Souls' Day) |
Samhain | November 1 Einharjar Feast |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Nordberg, Andreas (2006). Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning : kalendrar och kalendariska riter i det förkristna norden. ISBN 91-85352-62-4.
- ^ Orchard (1997:169).
- ^ Hunt-Anschutz 2002, p. 127; Harvey 2007, p. 58; Davy 2007, p. 159; Blain & Wallis 2009, p. 420.
- ^ Harvey 2007, p. 59.
- ^ Árni Björnsson, Icelandic feasts and holidays, 1980, p. 16.
- ^ English translation of "How Norway was settled" by Dasent 1894
- ^ Mikko Heikkilä (2012), On the Etymology of Certain Names in Finnic Mythology (also based on Dasent translation of "How Norway was settled"), SKY Journal of Linguistics
- ^ Andrew Evans, Iceland, Bradt Travel Guides, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84162-215-6, p. 29.
- ^ Harvey 2007, p. 58; Blain & Wallis 2009, p. 420.
- ^ Harvey 2007, p. 58.
- ^ BookSurge, ISBN 978-1-4196-3598-4.
- ^ James Chisholm, "The Rites of Ostara: Possibilities for Today", Idunna 1, no. 4 (February 1989), 7-10.
- ^ Jeffrey Kaplan, Radical religion in America: millenarian movements from the far right to the children of Noah, Syracuse University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-8156-0396-2, p. 76.
- ^ BookSurge, ISBN 978-1-4196-3598-4.
- ^ Graham Harvey, Listening people, speaking earth: contemporary paganism, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1997, ISBN 978-1-85065-272-4, p. 58.