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

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 Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indi ...

and around Midwinter, and and in the summer half of the year. Beyond these, Adam of Bremen's account of the

Temple at Uppsala The Temple at Uppsala was a religious center in the ancient Norse religion once located at what is now Gamla Uppsala (Swedish "Old Uppsala"), Sweden attested in Adam of Bremen's 11th-century work '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' and ...

describes a great festival that was held every nine years, however it has been argued that this would have been using

inclusive counting Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects, i.e., determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for every ele ...

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,

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 Þorrablót (; transliterated as thorrablot) is an Icelandic midwinter festival, named for the month of ''Þorri'' of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February), and ''blót'', literally meaning ''sacrifice'' ...

is sometimes considered a "pagan holiday" due to folk etymology with the name of the god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

. The name, while historically attested, is derived from

Þorri Þorri () is the Icelandic name of the personification of frost or winter in Norse mythology, and also the name of the fourth winter month (mid January to mid February) in the Icelandic calendar. In the '' Orkneyinga saga'' (written in the 13th ...

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 The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

sources, some Heathens use modern festival calendars that incorporate material from other new religious movements such as the "

Wheel of the Year The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. While names for each festival vary among dive ...

" popular in

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

. 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 The Troth, formerly the Ring of Troth, is an American-based international heathen organization.On its main ...

'' or "Vali's Day", derived from

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

by a folk etymology connection with the deity

Váli In Norse mythology, Váli (Old Norse: ) is a God and the son of the god Odin and the giantess Rindr. Váli has numerous brothers including Thor, Baldr, and Víðarr. He was born for the sole purpose of avenging Baldr, and does this by killing ...

. Suggestions for rituals suited for these various holidays were published by

Edred Thorsson Eadred (c. 923 – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder brother, Edmund, was killed try ...

, ''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 The Troth, formerly the Ring of Troth, is an American-based international heathen organization.On its main ...

in 2006, lists eight festivals:

, Idis-Þing, Ostara (Sigrblót), Waluburg's Night,

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...

, 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 ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

'' 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 Unnr the Deep-Minded,

Radbod, King of the Frisians Redbad or Radbod (died 719) was the king (or duke) of Frisia from c. 680 until his death. He is often considered the last independent ruler of Frisia before Frankish domination. He defeated Charles Martel at Cologne. Eventually, Charles prevaile ...

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