Holidays observed within the modern Pagan movement of Heathenry
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
Alfablot
,
Disablot
,
Veturnattablot
and
Bl?tm?naþ
at the beginning of winter,
Yule
and
M?draniht
around
Midwinter
, and
Hr?þm?naþ
and
Sigrblot
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.
[1]
[2]
Modern Heathens can celebrate a number of these festivals, with
Winter Nights
,
Yule
and
Sigrblot
being among the most widely observed, however the date is typically adjusted so that it falls on a weekend.
Modern development
[
edit
]
The modern Icelandic festival of
Þorrablot
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
.
This practice is criticised by other Heathens, however, due to its origin in the 20th century and its lack of connection to historical celebrations.
In addition to this, several groups in the USA have designated holidays through
ad 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
Vali
.
[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 ritual was again to be modified to suit "contemporary American sensibilities".
[13]
Specific modern calendars
[
edit
]
Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige (Sweden)
[
edit
]
Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige
(
Swedish
:
Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige
),
[14]
has a list of annual holidays held during specific periods of the year.
[15]
The Troth (USA)
[
edit
]
The handbook
Our Troth: Heathen Life
published by American-based inclusive Heathen organization
The Troth
in 2020, lists three holidays that most Heathens agree on, Yule, Winter Nights/Alfarblot/Disablot and Summer Nights/Sigrblot.
[16]
Then there are the holidays that Heathens don't agree on but many celebrate: Disting
[17]
(Second Full Moon of the New year), Lenzen (Full Moon Cycle around Vernal Equinox), Ostara
[18]
(First Full Moon After Vernal Equinox), May Day
[19]
(May 1), Midsummer/Litha
[20]
(Summer Solstice), Lammas
[21]
(Full moon after autumnal equinox) and Sunwait
[22]
(starts 6 weeks before Winter Solstice).
Holy "day" is a misnomer, as many of these observances are celebrated over several days, such as the 12 days of Yule or the six weeks of Sunwait.
Date
|
Holiday
|
Significance
|
Notes
|
Winter Solstice or the first full moon after Winter Solstice
|
Yule
|
The Heathen holy season of light
|
In modern times, Yule was thought to be celebrated near the Winter Solstice (December 21) for both symbolic and practical reasons. The first full moon after Winter Solstice is likely the more accurate date for Yule given the information present in literature of the early conversion period.
[23]
|
Begins second full moon after Autumnal Equinox and ends at new moon
|
Winter Nights/
Alfarblot/
Disablot
|
The Heathen holy season of love, loss and memory
|
Winter Nights is mentioned by the medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturlusson as one of the three major holidays on the Pre-Christian calendar in his chronicle
Heimskringla.
[24]
|
Begins first full moon after Spring Equinox and ends at new moon
|
Summer Nights/
Sigrblot
|
The Heathen holy season of celebration of the gods, their gifts and the victory of light over darkness at the beginning of summer
|
Consistent with this connection between spring and victory are the ritual combats that were celebrated in southern and western Germany on the day of “Summer Finding”?the day when the first spring violet was found or the first swallow was seen.
Obviously, the calendar date for this festivity could not be fixed in advance.
This event was marked by dancing and cheering, and it sometimes featured ritual combats or debates between costumed figures dressed as Summer and Winter, or ritual mocking and beating of effigies dressed as Winter or as Death.
[25]
|
Ingwine Heathenship (USA/UK)
[
edit
]
The movement Ingwina Hæðenscipe, which seeks to reconstruct West Germanic Heathen beliefs, also has a list of annual holidays held during specific periods of the year. The group provides both reconstructed, and entirely modern dates for these festivals for the benefit of modern practitioners.
[26]
Date
|
Holiday
|
Notes
|
Late December (
winter solstice
)
|
Geohol-blot
Yule blot
|
Devoted to
Woden
,
Ingui
(with whom they identify
Freyr
),
[27]
Wulð (with whom they identify
Ullr
),
[28]
and other "Yule Beings".
|
Late December
|
M?draniht
Mother's Night
|
Devoted to the Mother goddesses, or
Idese
.
|
Early January
|
Twelftadæg
(Twelfth Day)
|
Devoted to
Frig
, and to nature spirits, see
wassailing
.
|
February
|
Sige-tiber
(Victory blot)
|
Devoted to Woden, for victory in the forthcoming "Summer" months.
|
March
|
Lencten-tid
(Spring Feast)
|
Devoted to the goddesses
Hreðe
, and Hludana.
|
April
|
Easter-freolsdæg
(
Eostre
's Feast)
|
Devoted to
Eostre
.
|
Summer solstice
|
Midsumordæg
(
Midsummer
)
|
Devoted principally to
Thunor
, but also to Helith, with whom they associate good luck and healing.
[29]
|
Early August
|
Bendfeorm
(Corn Reaping Feast)
|
Devoted principally to
Beowa
. This is a celebration of the corn harvest and subsequent "tying". The group eschews the term "Lammas" as it is entirely Christian in origin.
|
Late September
|
Hærfestlic Freolsung
(
Harvest Festival
)
|
Devoted to a range of beings including Ing, Thunor, Frig, and Woden. This is a celebration of the late harvest, and symbolic offering of the Last Sheaf.
|
October
|
Winter-fylleþ
(
Winter Full-Moon
)
|
Devoted to ancestors and beings such as Ingui, Woden and the
Elves
. This is considered the beginning of Winter.
|
Mid November
|
Andetnes-blot
(Thanksgiving blot)
|
Devoted to many beings. This is when historically, livestock that could not survive the winter would be slaughtered.
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Nordberg, Andreas (2006).
Jul, disting och forkyrklig tiderakning : kalendrar och kalendariska riter i det forkristna norden
.
ISBN
91-85352-62-4
.
- ^
Orchard (1997:169).
- ^
Arni Bjornsson, Icelandic feasts and holidays, 1980, p. 16.
- ^
English translation of "How Norway was settled" by Dasent 1894
- ^
Mikko Heikkila (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.
- ^
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.
- ^
Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige (Forn Sed Sweden)
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Arets hogtider, Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige"
.
www.samfundetfornsed.se
. Retrieved
11 April
2022
.
- ^
"Asatru Holidays | The Troth | Inclusive Asatru and Heathenry"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
"Disting and other Late Winter Festivals | Heathen Holidays"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
"Ostara | Spring Holidays in Asatru | The Troth"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
"May Day | Norse Pagan Holidays | The Troth"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
"Midsummer | Asatru Holidays | The Troth"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
"Lammas | Heathen Holidays | The Troth"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
What is Sunwait? | A Modern Norse Pagan Tradition
, retrieved
2023-01-30
- ^
"Yule | Heathen Holidays | The Troth"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
"Winter Nights | Asatru Holidays | The Troth | The Troth"
.
thetroth.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-30
.
- ^
Grimm, Jacob (2012-04-26).
Teutonic Mythology
. Cambridge University Press.
doi
:
10.1017/cbo9781139207157
.
ISBN
978-1-108-04706-7
.
- ^
"Ingwina Hæðenscipe"
.
Ingwina Hæðenscipe
. 17 March 2021
. Retrieved
2022-05-02
.
- ^
"Ingui-Frea"
.
S?o Ingwina Ferræden
. 7 July 2021
. Retrieved
30 October
2022
.
- ^
"Wulð"
.
S?o Ingwina Ferræden
. 26 October 2021
. Retrieved
30 October
2022
.
- ^
"Helith"
.
S?o Ingwina Ferræden
. 14 February 2021
. Retrieved
30 October
2022
.
Works cited
[
edit
]
- Blain, Jenny; Wallis, Robert J. (2009). "Heathenry". In Lewis, James R.; Pizza, Murphy (eds.).
Handbook of Contemporary Paganisms
. Leiden: Brill. pp. 413?432.
ISBN
978-90-04-16373-7
.
- Davy, Barbara Jane (2007).
Introduction to Pagan Studies
. Lanham: Altamira.
ISBN
978-0-7591-0819-6
.
- Harvey, Graham (2007).
Listening People, Speaking Earth: Contemporary Paganism
(second ed.). London: Hurst & Company.
ISBN
978-1-85065-272-4
.
- Hunt-Anschutz, Arlea (2002). "Heathenry". In Rabinovitch, S.; Lewis, J. (eds.).
The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism
. New York: Citadel Press. pp. 126?127.
ISBN
978-0-8065-2406-1
.