Over the current joyful period, we had a great deal of comments on social networks around “Christmas” and “Yule” and which term was considered better among our Norse caring friends. We kinda gathered that Christmas was not actually proper but we had various different comments around ‘Yule’, so we decided to do a little bit of digging around to see what information we could find on Viking/ Norse vacations in general to try and keep ourselves right for future recommendation.

The chart below will ideally give some concept of when these celebrations were held.

At the time of writing this, we have actually just passed the modern-day yearly love fest that is St Valentine’s Day so it is maybe proper that we start our run through of Norse Holidays/ Celebrations with a number of love related days.

Þorrablot: or Partner’s day, This was commemorated around the exact same time as the modern-day Valentine holiday as it was held on the first day of’Porri ‘. This is the name provided to the part of the winter covering

Mid-January to Mid-February(also passionately known as ‘frozen snow month’which I make certain a lot of you can relate to!) The Þorrablot holiday was held in honour of all daddies and partners. It was likewise kept in honour of the God Thor and is thought to be connected to the winter spirit of Thorri. The woman of the house was expected to treat her partner incredibly well on this day. No doubt that included keeping him well fed! Image: Ernir Eyjólfsson Soon after other half’s have their day, it is then time for-

Góublót: likewise called “Spouse’s day” This was held on the very first day of the season known as Góa which ran from mid-February

to mid-March The Góublót holiday was held in honour of all partners and mothers. It’s likewise considered an event of the end of winter season. I make certain the men of your house likewise treated their better halves incredibly well on this day too – perhaps it was their time for cooking and cleaning!

If you are planning on adding either of these celebrations into your life then make sure to check out our Sterling Silver Collection of Viking jewelry for some awesome gift ideas

It is interesting to note that events around Summer season and Winter both appear to include the God Freya.

Sigrblót: the very first day of ‘Harpa’

The key style of this celebration is to welcome back the pleasure of sunshine and light after the long days of winter season. Offerings are made to Freya belong to this festival.

And when Winter returned, there was Alfarblót: hung on the very first day of the Winter. This is when our Norse pals commemorated after the final harvest of the year and again, it’s also connected with the goddess Freya. Unlike lots of other celebrations where individuals came together to commemorate, each family held their celebrations in their own home and it was generally believed to be the lady of the houses who took charge (most likely not that unexpected!)

And then, obviously, there is YULE, the ‘Viking Christmas’

This is typically believed to have actually been commemorated from around the Winter season Solstice to mid-January and amongst lots of theories of how Yule motivated the modern day Christmas celebrations is that the “12 Days of Christmas” might have been inspired by the timeline for Yule events.

Like modern celebrations, the Viking are thought to have taken pleasure in sharing food and drink with family and friends throughout this time. It is likewise thought that events consisted of a tree (embellished with carvings of Norse Gods to name a few things) and likewise a Yule Log although the initial would have been a genuine log and not a chocolate cake that looks like a log! The log would be sculpted with messages to the Gods seeking security for the family in the year to come, and it is likewise believed that after the celebrations were complete, a piece of the decorated log would be kept in your house to use on the domestic fire to keep the God’s security in the home.

Another slightly more sinister aspect of the Winter season Solstice was that it was stated to be the night when the God Odin rode through the skies with the ‘Wild Hunt’ gathering the souls of the dead. This was as excellent a factor as any to remain inside your home and focus on some feasting instead of being outdoors and taking the risk of being captured by the Hunt before your time!