Holidays and rituals. Educational program, or why it is not always profitable to celebrate holidays with neo-pagans About the holiday "Torri"

There were four Icelandic seasonal holidays:

· Midsumar (“midsummer”) - summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The date varies depending on the year.

· Yule is a mid-winter holiday. Now we celebrate 13 days from the winter solstice.

So, the Icelanders had two seasons and holidays in the middle of each season and holidays for the transition to the next season. Therefore, they should be considered the most important in the northern tradition. A characteristic feature of this set of holidays is that, along with the usual four calendar dates of solar solstices and equinoxes, not the equinoxes are celebrated, but the “beginnings of the seasons.” Since this went against modern neo-pagan trends, neo-pagans generally adopted “additional” holidays - firstly the spring equinox, linking it with the Anglo-Saxon goddess Ostara, saying that the Anglo-Saxons were, after all, Germanic in origin. Then they couldn’t do without Walpurgis Night or Beltane, that is, the first day of May, since this had already become a classic of the genre (although in the Scandinavian countries special attention was not paid to May 1). We added a harvest festival common in neo-paganism (and which took place in many continental traditions of antiquity), Lammas - August 1st. From Icelandic folk traditions, they added the holiday of Torri - Torrablót, giving the national day of men and farmers the status of a holiday of Thor and Tyr.

Authentic Scandinavian holidays	Modern neo-pagan holidays
	Spring Equinox (Ostara)
Sumarblot (April 19 – 25)
	May 1 (Walpurgis Night)
Midsumar - summer solstice	Summer solstice
	August 1 (Lammas)
	Autumn equinox
Vetrnetr (October 21 – 27)
	November 1 (Samhain)
	Winter solstice
Yule – mid-winter (January 6 – 9)
Torri (January 19-25) - celebrated since the 18th-19th century
	February 2 (Imbolc)

Thus, we see that in fact only one ancient holiday exactly coincides with a modern holiday. What did the modern northern pagans, led by the American Edred Thorsson, do? They combined both holiday calendars, replacing common neo-pagan holidays with the nearest “northern” holidays, and if there were no nearby holidays, they were added to the list.

And in a stripped down version we get, for example, the following list:

Ostara (spring equinox)
Walpurgis Night (night of May 1st)
Midsummer (summer solstice)
Bread Day "Loaf-Feast" (August 1)
Yule (winter solstice)
Holiday of Thor - Donara (January 19 - 25)

Edred Thorsson himself in Northern Magic offers the following:

Windnetr "Winter Night"
Winter solstice
Disting (February 14)
The vernal equinox
Walpurgis Night and May Day
Summer solstice
Tingtide (August 23)
Autumn equinox

Here the main ideologist of the modern Northern Path leaves no stone unturned from the only extant and reliable pagan traditions of the North (Iceland). He comes up with the holiday "disting", which falls exactly on St. Valentine's Day. Valentina. Celebrates the "witch's" Walpurgis Night, and the traditional "Winter Night", but refuses the first day of summer ("Sumarblot"). And for unknown reasons he comes up with Tingtide, which he considers the time to discuss aspects of the Faith (naturally, Troth).

Needless to say, such a mixture of Germanic continental, Scandinavian, Anglo-Celtic and, in general, pan-European traditions usually gives rise to ritual confusion. Therefore, it is worth separating, if not the wheat from the chaff, then certainly the buckwheat from the peas.

There's no point in celebrating the Icelandic "winter nights" in Miami or Florida as if nothing had happened. There is no need to pin all the important seasonal dates of the agricultural cycle of the southern and fertile latitudes on Frey and Freya. It is absurd to celebrate a generous “harvest day” as part of the tradition of a country where even Christmas trees grow poorly.

Sometimes they do things differently: they leave the four “Nordic” seasonal holidays, but give them the combined meaning of the two closest common pagan festivals. So, for example, Sumarblot combines the features of the spring equinox and Beltane, during which the Anglo-Saxon goddess Ostara and (for some reason) all the main aces and asinyas are revered. Vetrnetr in mid-October is celebrated as a cross between Harvest Day (Lammas) and Halloween, during which tribute is paid to the alves, diss, as well as male ancestors and any other gods. In addition to all this, neo-pagans are left with a burning desire to find their own seasonal holiday for Thor, which is being done with varying degrees of success. Needless to say, this position as a whole is extremely inferior, flawed and incomprehensible.

I propose to consider the semantic meanings of each season and the transition to it. Then it will become clear what people were celebrating and what they were preparing for at one time or another of the year, not only in the generous northern latitudes, but throughout the world (with the exception of the southern hemisphere, of course). At the same time, we will focus on the internal meaning of living this or that season as an individual person. as well as the entire community.

In addition, let us abandon the “obsession with the cycle” of fertility and agriculture. Firstly, because few of the modern neo-pagans have their own agricultural land and conduct subsistence farming, and the well-being of their families no longer depends much on the favor of the gods, favorable weather and the ability to give birth to as many children as possible. Secondly, it was in Scandinavia that very little farming was done, and extra children were completely thrown away.

Sumarblot

The first day of summer, celebrated on Thursday afternoon between April 19 and April 25 according to the new style. Despite the fact that the Icelans did not have spring and autumn, we all understand that this is a celebration of the beginning of the “warm half of the year,” that is, Spring.

Spring always implies some kind of beginning, the inclusion of an individual and an entire community in something new. New communities are organized, a person takes on a new role, and can officially enter a new age category or sphere of life. And the purpose of the rituals on this day is inclusion.

“Rituals of inclusion” are the creation of a new community, the acceptance of a new member into an already existing community, the celebration of the birth of a child, female teenage initiation, various “cumulations” of girls (known to us from Slavic rituals), the creation of gender groups within the community (separately male and separately female) . The slogan of the rituals of this period is “belonging to another” (belonging to one’s gender, age, family and clan, brotherhood, community).

For the most part, spring rituals are “female” or “yin” rituals. The element of these rituals is Water. The strongest experiences of the participants here may be associated with water procedures. At this time, you can perform cleansing rituals with water. Such rituals include burning a doll - the personification of Winter, or dipping it and floating it in water.

Each holiday ritual should consistently include semantic elements of all four seasons of the year (with the greatest emphasis on the symbols of the current season). A circular bowl and eating food “from a common cauldron”, circular or group (not paired) dancing, choral singing of songs, bathing in water are symbols of Spring.

Midsumar

The summer solstice, the longest day of the year, marks summer in full swing. This is the only Scandinavian holiday that coincides with the ancient and modern pagan holidays of the rest of Europe.

Summer is the peak of solar activity, the heyday of the year. The blissful state of complete unity, dissolution in another passes. The “honeymoon” ends and the first doubts and contradictions appear. It is no coincidence that this is the time of the general Thing - the Althing in Iceland, when people came together to sue each other, announce important events and agree on everything. This is a period of both belonging and not belonging to another or the whole.

The rituals of this period are associated with a clearer formalization of the relationship between individuals or an individual and a community. This is finding out who is who, who is main and who is secondary, who has what role, who can do what. The status of each person and his importance to the community are clarified. This is a time of feasts and feasts, competitive fights and competitions in various skills. The winners of the competitions take more honorable places at the table and receive winnings and gifts.

The main emotional experience of this stage is the feeling of oneself (as such or as one is) as part of a broader whole. This is a feeling of being part of something great, something with a higher meaning. It's close to awe. Therefore, at this time, solemn rituals dedicated to the patron deities of the community are good. A person already distinguishes himself from the whole, but still feels like a part of it, and a significant part.

The element of this period and its rituals is Air. Therefore, invocations and praises of deities, verbal duels of skalds, announcements of certain events (engagements and upcoming weddings) are good. And as already mentioned, various competitions with winnings are necessary.

Vetrnetr

The holiday takes place on Saturday night from October 21 to 27. It is called “winter nights” and occurs at night, marking the transition to the winter, “night” season, when in the far northern latitudes of Iceland the sun does not appear above the horizon.

If we perceive this transition from Summer to Winter as a short period of Autumn, then the rituals of separation correspond to this time. A person ceases to belong to the community or the whole. He is already on his own, Mother Nature no longer helps him (she grew the fruits, but the person himself had to collect them). This is a time of independence for each community member. The person is also separated from his usual role. He once again checks how well it corresponds to him and leaves or changes his identity in the community, focusing on his state of being. This is a period of non-belonging. This is a certain threshold of ability for one’s own actions.

Rituals of this time include training in concentration, the ability to act volitionally, exercises in strength and dexterity, as well as acquiring new skills. The main experience of these rituals is the feeling of accomplishing something (“I did it”). The plan was implemented and brought to completion, and this brings special joy.

The elemental element of this period and rituals is Fire. It provides severe physical and mental tests in which a person learns to act in even worse conditions than they are supposed to actually be. Weapons, pain and fire can be closely related here. And a person goes through everything, resisting and experiencing, living it.

Yule

Previously, the mid-winter holiday - Yule was celebrated on January 6-9. However, now pagans tend to celebrate Yule twelve nights starting from the winter solstice (which, frankly, seems like overkill). However, for our description of seasonal holidays within the framework of the seasonality archetype, this is not at all important.

This is a period of rituals of transformation and integration. They involve deep internal changes in consciousness and ideas about the world. These are rites of immersion into the depths of the unconscious. (It is no coincidence that it was on the Yule holidays that the volvas went to feasts and predicted the future. It was not for nothing that Yule was dedicated to Frey and Freya - the deities of the world of the dead and magic.) People learned new secrets and received some knowledge. This is the period of gaining wisdom.

The emotional experiences of the rituals of this time are associated with a sudden understanding of the essence of things or enlightenment. A person from the inside begins to perceive himself again as part of a more general whole, part of the world. The unity of opposites is another idea adopted during this period. The universe reveals meaning and its own wisdom. And a person discovers that he belongs to himself.

Modern communities and celebrations

A typical neo-pagan holiday consists of
Blessing the entire community with the sign of Thor's hammer
· praising and invoking the gods in general (this or that god)
· one or another instructive program (from reading passages from the Elder Edda to fortune telling with runes)
· eating and sharing food with the gods
· throwing a horn or a bowl of alcohol in a circle with the proclamation of toasts, with a brief praise of the beloved deity
· the rest - as it turns out

There is nothing wrong with this holiday routine, except that in all its program elements it corresponds to the archetype of one season - Spring. Everything is aimed at experiencing unity with other people (similar to ourselves), gods, and earth. There is no separating oneself from the general mass of the community, no competition, no opportunity to clarify relationships within the framework of cultivated rituals, no initial tests. Everyone is equal to each other, with the exception of the Priest and Priestess, who usually represent the Pope or Mother of the community.

Communities and holidays of the “spring” type characterize an immature state, striving with all its might for “summer” separation from its “parents”: industrial culture, post-Christian ideology, post-capitalist or post-Soviet society. That’s why most of these pagan gatherings resemble a children’s play matinee (a “matinee”, by the way, is also a “spring” association) with a teacher or pioneer leader.

The community moves into the “summer” stage, when not only the Priest and Priestess (that is, the main ones), but also other participants find their place in it. When ordinary participants cease to be “children” who are not bound by their own functions and obligations. Of course, this is the time to measure what someone has more or less than another. Whatever it is. The “autumn” period can bring discord and ruptures, even splits, but also a new self-identification of the community and each person in it. In the “winter” time, the community finds a new ideological or mystical meaning for its existence. And at the new round of this circle of seasons, a generation of “senior” community members has already appeared who can teach or help the newcomers something.

About the holiday "Torri"

In modern Iceland, on the Friday between January 19 and 25, a holiday called Torri is celebrated. It is also called "Bonds Day" or "Men's Day". On this day, special dishes are eaten, the descriptions of which will be skipped here.

The holiday gained popular popularity in the 19th century. Torrey, the main character of this holiday, comes to the peasant and tells him that if he worked hard enough in the summer, then he will have enough strength to survive until the real spring. Songs are sung about this. It is assumed that Torrie is the personification of Winter (analogous to Frost, who rewards hard workers and freezes sloths to death). It is believed that this Torrey has a companion - a wife. Her name is Goa and she is more lenient towards people than her husband.

In the modern religion of Asatru, the innocent farm holiday of Torri has become a festival in honor of the god Thor, despite the fact that there is no other connection between these two characters other than a similar sound. Presumably, the frost at this time of year is so strong that it can only be caused by some frost giant, and therefore Thor’s help is clearly needed to deal with this. Therefore, on this day, neo-pagans simply celebrate a holiday in honor of the god Thor.

Holidays in honor of deities

Holidays in honor of one or another deity have a meaningful religious and magical meaning. They may or may not have a symbolic connection to the current season, and may be performed and celebrated alone. They are celebrated in order to evoke and feel the power of the deity outside, or his/her qualities within oneself. Different aspects of the same god or goddess also have meaning. So you can honor Odin - the patron saint of skalds, Volund - as a creator and a skilled artisan, Frigg - as a furious Holda, Skadi who knows how to part with men, and Freya as a goddess who helps lovers or witches, depending on desires and needs.

It is for this kind of holiday that the usual rituals are suitable with the consecration of space, the glorification of the deity, the eating of food and drinks, or other symbolic actions designed to arouse and strengthen the power of the archetype. Don’t think that praising the deity and eating delicious food one evening is enough for everything in the right area (or in oneself) to go smoothly. During the veneration of a deity (one can say it differently: when feeling a connection with an archetype), decisions can be made about some changes in the rhythm of life, attitude towards anything, as well as intentions to do this or that.

Tendency to create more and more circles of hell for oneself | Druid of Erebor

There were four ancient Icelandic seasonal holidays:

· Midsumar (“midsummer”) - summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The date varies depending on the year.

· Yule is a mid-winter holiday. Now we celebrate 13 days from the winter solstice.

Modern neo-pagan holidays

Spring Equinox (Ostara)

Midsumar - summer solstice

Summer solstice

Autumn equinox

Winter solstice

And in a stripped down version we get, for example, the following list:

Ostara (spring equinox)
Walpurgis Night (night of May 1st)
Midsummer (summer solstice)
Bread Day "Loaf-Feast" (August 1)
Yule (winter solstice)
Holiday of Thor - Donara (January 19 - 25)

Edred Thorsson himself in Northern Magic offers the following:

Windnetr "Winter Night"
Winter solstice
Disting (February 14)
The vernal equinox
Walpurgis Night and May Day
Summer solstice
Tingtide (August 23)
Autumn equinox

Sumarblot
The first day of summer, celebrated on Thursday afternoon between April 19 and April 25 according to the new style. Despite the fact that the Icelans did not have spring and autumn, we all understand that this is a celebration of the beginning of the “warm half of the year,” that is, Spring.

Midsumar
The summer solstice, the longest day of the year, marks summer in full swing. This is the only Scandinavian holiday that coincides with the ancient and modern pagan holidays of the rest of Europe.

Vetrnetr

Yule
Previously, the mid-winter holiday - Yule was celebrated on January 6-9. However, now pagans tend to celebrate Yule twelve nights starting from the winter solstice (which, frankly, seems like overkill). However, for our description of seasonal holidays within the framework of the seasonality archetype, this is not at all important.

Yule (in different languages Yule, Joel or Yuil) is an ancient holiday of the winter solstice among the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples, which is traditionally celebrated on December 21-22. Being pagan, the holiday later became traditional, and was held in Christian times, combined with Christmas.

Of all the festivals, Yule is undoubtedly the most important, the most sacred and the most powerful. On these nights, all worlds converge in Midgard: gods and goddesses descend to earth, trolls and elves talk with people, the dead emerge from the Lower Worlds; those of the people who often communicate with the Other World leave their bodies for a while and join the riders of the Wild Hunt (oskorei - “riders of Asgard”), or become werewolves and other spirits.

Also, “Yule” is the days of the great feast and holiday, on which all members of the clan gathered together in order to again meet the Sun, rising from the darkness, and see the reborn world. It is no coincidence that elements of the holiday have been preserved in Christian Christmas - such as an evergreen tree, symbolizing life that will continue after the winter cold.
The origin of the word “Yule” is lost in the mists of time. Most likely, it goes back to an Indo-European root meaning “to rotate,” “to spin,” “wheel.” Perhaps it means “turning time,” “turn of the year,” “time of sacrifice,” or “dark time.”
According to tradition, Yule lasts 13 nights, which are called “Nights of the Spirits,” which is also preserved in their German name, Weihnachten. These thirteen nights, from the first sunset to the last dawn, are the gap between two years, a sacred period during which there is neither the usual time nor the usual boundaries, when the lot of the gods is decided and the spindle of the goddess of Fate, Urd, rotates.

In ancient times, among the Anglo-Saxon tribes, Yule began the night before the winter solstice (December 19 or 20, depending on the year). According to Bede the Historian, this night was called "mother's night", and if earlier, apparently, it was dedicated to rituals associated with diss and Frigg, now it is expressed as an evening "with the family."
However, the most important night of the Yule holiday is, of course, the solstice, the longest night of the year, during which spirits become the real rulers of this world. On this night, they lit the “Yule bonfire” and protected the house from evil spirits; on that same night the most sincere vows and promises were made. They also believed that one should not be alone on this night - because then a person is left alone with the dead and spirits of the Other World...

“Yule” ends on the “twelfth night” (actually, the thirteenth, as evidenced even by its Old Icelandic name, Threttandi) - that is, January 6 according to the Christian calendar (if counted from the night of Christian Christmas on December 25), or 1-2 January according to ancient Germanic chronology (if counted from December 19 or 20).
The next day was considered the “day of fate” - everything that was said and done before sunset determined all the events of the coming year (hence our saying “how you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it”). It was believed that there were no surer signs than those revealed during the “Twelfth Night”; and the most powerful words are those spoken that night.
Let us note, however, that, according to some historians, in ancient times the German “Yule” was celebrated several days later than Christian Christmas. Thus, in Norway, “Twelfth Night” (“Whip Day”) fell on January 13; some believe that "Twelfth Night" was celebrated on January 14 according to the modern calendar. However, most modern Asatru communities nevertheless choose to combine Yule with the Christian holiday of Christmas and the winter solstice.

Traditions

Yule - Solstice Night, the longest night of the year. A great festival was held in her honor, as the medieval Germans awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life, who warmed the frozen earth and awakened life in the seeds stored in its bosom throughout the long winter. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and the crops and trees were blessed by drinking spiced cider.

Children went from house to house with gifts of carnations, apples, and oranges, which were placed in baskets made of evergreen branches and stalks of wheat, sprinkled with flour. Apples and oranges represented the sun, branches symbolized immortality, stalks of wheat represented the harvest, and flour signified success, light and life. Holly, mistletoe and ivy were decorated not only outside but also inside houses to invite nature spirits to take part in the celebration. A branch of holly was kept near the door all year as a constant invitation to good fortune to visit the inhabitants of the house.
According to tradition, there was singing of a Christmas carol, blessing of trees, burning of the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchange of gifts, and kissing under the mistletoe. The tradition of serving Christmas ham dates back to the pagan custom of swearing an oath on the head of a wild boar. It was believed that such an oath reaches Frey himself, the god of fertility, whose sacred animal was the wild boar.

Symbolism
Symbolism of Yule - a Yule log or a small Yule log with three candles, evergreen branches and twigs, holly, ivy hanging on the door, golden candles, baskets of fruit decorated with carnations, a boiling pot of ale, milkweed, Christmas cactus.
The ceremonial Yule log was given the main place in the holiday. According to tradition, the log must be taken from the land of the owner of the house or accepted as a gift... but in no case purchased. Brought into the house and placed in the fireplace, it was decorated with seasonal greens, watered with cider or ale and sprinkled with flour. The log burned all night (it was set on fire from a piece of wood from last year's log, which was specially preserved), then smoldered for the next 12 days, and then was ceremonially removed. Ash is the traditional tree for the Yule log. This is the sacred tree of the Teutons, associated with the mythical tree Yggdrasil.

Winter Day- an ancient pagan holiday celebrated by the Scandinavian peoples. In 2019 the holiday falls on October 26, from this time they begin to count down the “winter nights” - the darkest time of the year. In many countries (but not in Russia), on the last weekend of October there is an official transition to winter time - the clock hands are moved forward an hour.

history of the holiday

Winter Day is the Old Norse New Year, which was celebrated at the end of the period of active preparation for the winter season. The holiday of the beginning of winter was called Vetrnetr(first winter nights according to the Icelandic calendar).

Winter nights, the arrival of which was celebrated for several days, meant the transition to the “night” season, when in the northern latitudes the sun appears above the horizon for only a few hours, and in the Arctic there comes a real polar night.

The holiday symbolized the transition to the most difficult and harsh period of life, when nature freezes and ceases to exude vitality. This meant that a person must turn to spiritual values and rely only on himself.

Traditions of welcoming winter

Holiday Vetrnetr very ancient, this is a legacy of the times when the Scandinavian way of life was in many ways close to the primitive. At this time, the transition to a period began when one should not expect help from nature, but one must rely only on oneself, on one’s family and on one’s clan. It was in winter that the redistribution of power began in ancient northern communities, usually cruel and bloody: during the inevitable massacre, the weak died, and the stronger and more ambitious made their way to the top.

The symbol of these changes is fire, which allows you to survive in the harsh winter. Fire is the main attribute of this ancient holiday. The trial by fire was used during the initiation rites, when young men and even boys were initiated into hunters and warriors. According to tradition, on the first nights of winter, people burned ritual bonfires, held Viking competitions, held initiation ceremonies for young warriors and riotous feasts where alcohol flowed like a river. Feasts and ritual lists often ended in bloody showdowns.

Today Winter Day is an exclusively folklore holiday. The beginning of winter in Scandinavia is traditionally celebrated with reenactments of Viking battles and historical festivals. Scandinavian culture is also very popular in Russia, especially in the North-West, Karelia and, of course, in Vyborg, where various thematic festivals are traditionally held.

What not to do on Scandinavian New Year

Among the Old Scandinavian peoples, it was believed that the holiday should under no circumstances be held in the dark, as it promised all sorts of troubles, including mortal dangers. It was also believed that on the first winter nights it was dangerous to remain alone: trouble could come from harsh nature or from unkind people. It was imperative to stick to your family and your clan.

In addition, refusal to take part in the general fun was not approved: a gloomy and frowning person could be suspected of having unkind thoughts with all the ensuing (very unpleasant) consequences. The tradition of welcoming winter cheerfully, with noise and lights is still alive today.

January 9 is the day of remembrance of Raud the Strong
Raud is one of Asatru's martyrs who gave their lives for their faith.

January 18 - Nardugan
Translated from Turkic, “nardugan” means “born of the sun” and symbolizes the pagan cult of the sun.

January 22 - Torrablout
Torrablout is celebrated in Iceland from the end of January to the end of February.

February 1 - Imbolc
The name Imbolc comes from the Old Irish word mblec - "milk".

February 14 - Valentine's Day (Valentine's Day). On this day the pagans revered the god Vali, the patron saint of fertility and rebirth.

Disting Heralds the awakening of vital forces that fell asleep during the Winter Night.

March 22 - Vernal Equinox - Festival of the Goddess Ostara. On this day, in the annual cycle of Asatru, spring comes to replace winter.

March 28 is Ragnar Lothbrok's Day. Ragnar was one of the legendary Vikings.
In 845 he made the legendary campaign against Paris. On this day, the pagans honor this brave warrior by reading the sagas about his exploits.

April 20 - First day of summer Sumarsdag (Siggblot). According to the Icelandic calendar, this is the first day of summer; previously, during this holiday, ritual sacrifices were made to Odin.

April 30 - Walpurgis Night - is the most significant of the pagan holidays dedicated to fertility.

May 1 - Beltane - one of the most magnificent pagan holidays, falling on April 30 - May 1. Day of Goddess Rauni.

In Finland, May 1 is Witch's Rowan Day, a holiday of the goddess Rauni, associated with the mountain ash or rowan tree.

May 9 is Gutrot Day. This Norwegian martyr opposed the Christian fanatic Trygvason and called on all Norwegians to resist his tyranny.

June 21 - Summer Solstice Day. Among the Celtic peoples of Britain, the very timing of the Summer Solstice festival speaks of its past connection with the cult of the sun.

August 1 - Lughnasadh (Lammas). The day of August 1st has many names, but the most common among them is Lughnasadh, which translates to "Lug's gathering" or "Lug's wedding."

October 14 is Winter Day or Scandinavian New Year, which comes at the end of the harvest period.

November 11 - Einheriar Day Einherjar - deceased heroes who earned their place of honor in Valhalla - Odin's heavenly palace.

December 13 - Day of the Goddess Lucina In Sweden, the holiday of the Sun Goddess Lucina is still celebrated - on St. Lucia's Day.

December 19 - Of all the celebrations of our ancestors, Yule is undoubtedly the most important, the most sacred and the most powerful.

December 31 - Yule ends on the Twelfth Night (actually, the thirteenth, as evidenced by even its Old Icelandic name - Threttandi.