In the Modern Paganism, modern Pagan movement of Heathenry (new religious movement), Heathenry there are a number of Religious holiday, holidays celebrated by different groups and individuals. The most widely observed are based on Germanic paganism, 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

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 , , and at the beginning of winter, Yule and around Midwinter, and and in the summer half of the year. 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.Orchard (1997:169). 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.

Modern development

The modern Icelandic festival of Þorrablót is sometimes considered a "pagan holiday" due to folk etymology with the name of the god Thor. 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. Despite this, toasts to Thor are commonly included in the modern celebration. 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 Váli. 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. 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".

Specific modern calendars

Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige (Sweden)

Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige ( sv, Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige), has a list of annual holidays held during specific periods of the year.

The Troth (USA)

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, Lammas, Loaf-Fest (Freyfaxi) and Winter-Nights (Álfablót, Alf-Blessing, Dísablót, 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". In addition, ''Our Troth'' cites a number of "Days of Remembrance" dedicated to various historical and legendary figures such as Aud the Deep-Minded (Ketilsdóttir), Unnr the Deep-Minded, Radbod, King of the Frisians and Egill Skallagrímsson.

Ingwine Heathenship (USA/UK)

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathan holidays Modern pagan holidays Germanic neopaganism Lists of observances