My Yule Blot
Swedish Yule foods and ale.
A lot of pork as a reminder of Freyr.
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Vetrnætr (Winter Nights)
Winter Nights or Old Norse Vetrnætr was a Norse winter festival that was initially celebrated in pre-Christian Scandinavia. It was said bySnorri Sturluson that Winter Nights is one of the three most important festivals. This festival also marks the end of the summer and start of the winter meaning the end of the harvest work and it was a time to celebrate. The festival is celebrated by some Neo-pagans today.
A Neo-pagan Winter Nights altar
Personally i would rather call the Vetrnaetr a period of festivals than “a festival” (singular).*The Alfablot is very ancestral, to the elves and Odin (and i incorpotate Freya since they are both psychopomps) and more than that, it is very private.It was usually the family, houshold or similar small group celebrating it (after all , it involves their ancestors).I have been invited to a number of blots by different people and groups, but NEVER to an Alfablot.(Autumn around “Halloween” , Samhain and similar customs)
*Yule is more of a midwinterthing and in the Nordic ciountries it looks (and looked) more or less as the Nordic Christian Christmas with a smorgosboard (= feast ) consisting of ale and other alcohol (later “Glögg”, a Nordic Gluewein, that is wine with spices served hot came into tradition and with destillery so did “Brännvin” which is more or less Vodka or Schnapps) fatty meats, especially pork in all it´s forms and a Yule ham takes the place of the turkey traditional in many countries.A Yule Goat is also traditional, made of straw it is a part of decoration.So Goat (Thor) Pork (Freyr) Straw (Harvest) are in a sense shared by Heathen, Christian and Secular people in the Nordic countries.(Christmas to Newyears, Late Dec to early Jan)
*Disablot is to the Norns/Valkyries, and i would personally theorize (based on the strong veneration in other Indo European pre Christian cultures of the personal Genius) that it was also for the personal Fylgjor of the participants (note that there is a host of “Fates” or Norns. Three basic ones but then a number of them for groups of people and finally a personal one).This was a time for hope of a new year of harvest and fertility.In some parts the rituals seems to have been performed by women, among the Sviar (Swedes) it was performed by the king at the great Disathing (which is still held at Uppsala, though for non Heathen Swedes it is simply a market).
(Late Febr to March)
The celebration lives on as an annual market inUppsala, Sweden. A scene from the disting of 2008.
Julbock Photo: http://www.scandinavian-south.com/index.htmlAll others: Open Source
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I would like to wish you all , Heathen or other , a very nice winter solstice.
I am going to get the ale, pork and other ingedients in a few hours and friendship will be one of the thing i speak off over the blot (sacrifice).
May friendships and opportunities be reinvigorated as the light returns to the world of man.
May new possabilities bloom and love thaw the chest as the new year approaches.
May Odin and Freyr bless us with amazement of our own mystery and the magic of our own being.
Til Ars ok Frithar!
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In Scandinavia it´s common to drink Glögg, mulled wine at Yule.
Thought i´d send you a recipe:
MULLED WINE
2 bottles red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz)
6 cinnamon sticks
2 oranges, halved and studded w/ whole cloves
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup brandy
Pour wine into a non-reactive soup pot. Add cinnamon sticks, clove-studded oranges, sugar and brandy. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally to make sure sugar dissolves, until the wine has taken on the flavor of the spices, approximately 15 minutes. Do not let boil. Serves 8-12. (Personal recipe By Edythe Preet )
Ps: In Sweden we often put raisins and peeled almonds in it and eat them with a tea spoon while drinking.
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![Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian calendar (Julian calendar) was adopted. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, and some have theorized a connection to the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
Terms with an etymological equivalent to “Yule” are still used in the Nordic Countries for the Christian Christmas, but also for other religious holidays of the season. In modern times this has gradually led to a more secular tradition under the same name as Christmas. Yule is also used to a lesser extent in English-speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christiansand by some Neopagans.
The great Midwinter blót, or Yule, in the middle of January. Freyr was the most important god at the Midwinter and autumn blót, and Christmas ham (the pig was for Freyr) is still a main Christmas course in parts of Scandinavia.
In Germanic Neopagan sects, Yule is celebrated with gatherings that often involve a meal and gift giving. Further attempts at reconstruction of surviving accounts of historical celebrations are often made, a hallmark being variations of the traditional. Groups such as the Asatru Folk Assembly in the US recognize the celebration as lasting 12 days, beginning on the date of the winter solstice.
Yule was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples, which was progressively absorbed into the Christian observations surrounding Christmas.[12] Simek says that the Yule feast “had a pronounced religious character”, and Simek cites section 7 of Gulaþingslög, where Yule is described as celebrated “for a fertile and peaceful season” and consists of a fertility sacrifice. Simek says that focus was not on the gods of theVanir, but instead the god Odin, and he notes that one of Odin’s many names is Jólnir (Old Norse “yule figure”). Simek says that Odin was associated with Yule, and that the tradition of the Wild Hunt undoubtedly contributed to the association of the two. According to Simek “it is uncertain whether the Germanic Yule feast still had a function in the cult of the dead and in the veneration of the ancestors, a function which the mid-winter sacrifice certainly held for the West European Stone and Bronze Ages.” The traditions of the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule customs, and Simek says these customs “indicate the significance of the feast in pre-Christian times”.
Specific dating is problematic. In the 13th century, the Old Norse month name ýlir (attested once) refers to the period of time between 14 November and 13 December. The time of Yule falls within around the time of a month that corresponds with the end of the modern calendar year. Andy Orchard says that “in practice, it is difficult to specify the yule-tide period more accurately than at some point between about mid-November and the beginning of January.” Rudolf Simek says that the Old Norse timing “offers no point of reference for the sacrificial feast” and that “the identification with the mid-winter time of sacrifice is most likely.”
[Here i should probably say that i have always bloted to BOTH Odin and Freyr at Yule.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lco80fw2LP1qer9b0o1_400.jpg)
Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian calendar (Julian calendar) was adopted. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, and some have theorized a connection to the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Terms with an etymological equivalent to “Yule” are still used in the Nordic Countries for the Christian Christmas, but also for other religious holidays of the season. In modern times this has gradually led to a more secular tradition under the same name as Christmas. Yule is also used to a lesser extent in English-speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christiansand by some Neopagans.
The great Midwinter blót, or Yule, in the middle of January. Freyr was the most important god at the Midwinter and autumn blót, and Christmas ham (the pig was for Freyr) is still a main Christmas course in parts of Scandinavia.
In Germanic Neopagan sects, Yule is celebrated with gatherings that often involve a meal and gift giving. Further attempts at reconstruction of surviving accounts of historical celebrations are often made, a hallmark being variations of the traditional. Groups such as the Asatru Folk Assembly in the US recognize the celebration as lasting 12 days, beginning on the date of the winter solstice.
Yule was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples, which was progressively absorbed into the Christian observations surrounding Christmas.[12] Simek says that the Yule feast “had a pronounced religious character”, and Simek cites section 7 of Gulaþingslög, where Yule is described as celebrated “for a fertile and peaceful season” and consists of a fertility sacrifice. Simek says that focus was not on the gods of theVanir, but instead the god Odin, and he notes that one of Odin’s many names is Jólnir (Old Norse “yule figure”). Simek says that Odin was associated with Yule, and that the tradition of the Wild Hunt undoubtedly contributed to the association of the two. According to Simek “it is uncertain whether the Germanic Yule feast still had a function in the cult of the dead and in the veneration of the ancestors, a function which the mid-winter sacrifice certainly held for the West European Stone and Bronze Ages.” The traditions of the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule customs, and Simek says these customs “indicate the significance of the feast in pre-Christian times”.
Specific dating is problematic. In the 13th century, the Old Norse month name ýlir (attested once) refers to the period of time between 14 November and 13 December. The time of Yule falls within around the time of a month that corresponds with the end of the modern calendar year. Andy Orchard says that “in practice, it is difficult to specify the yule-tide period more accurately than at some point between about mid-November and the beginning of January.” Rudolf Simek says that the Old Norse timing “offers no point of reference for the sacrificial feast” and that “the identification with the mid-winter time of sacrifice is most likely.”
[Here i should probably say that i have always bloted to BOTH Odin and Freyr at Yule.]
