(pronounced �oːʂgɔŋ is an archaic form of Swedish

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

. It is sometimes translated as the year walk or yearly round. According to Swedish researcher Tommy Kuusela,Kuusela, T., 2014. Swedish year walk: from folk tradition to computer game. In: Island Dynamics Conference on Folk Belief & Traditions of the Supernatural: Experience, Place, Ritual, & Narrative. Shetland Isles, UK, 24–30 March 2014. nline Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6624109/Swedish_Year_Walk._From_Folk_Tradition_to_Computer_Game ccessed 09/07/14 was a complex form of divination in Swedish folk tradition, usually practiced at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

or New Year’s Eve. The phenomena could vary greatly regionally or even in the same district, but the general course was the same: if the practitioners ("year walkers") had managed to follow certain instructions and to solve particular challenges (such as encounters with supernatural beings), they would catch glimpses of what would happen the following year. Petrus Gaslander's 18th-century ("Character and Customs of the Peasantry") describes the , and says that it is no longer practiced. He writes that to undertake the ', one must walk into a forest before first light on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

, without looking at a fire and without food or drink, and walking so far that the crowing of a cock cannot be heard. Having done so, the "year walker" will now be able to see the events of the future, and by looking at fields and the roads approaching churches can learn of the harvests and funerals of the coming year.

In popular culture

was the basis for a 2013

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

called '' Year Walk''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsgang Culture of Sweden European folklore Divination