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Lesson E Religious Practices of the Pre-Christian & Viking Age North
by Alfta Lothurrsdottir
Northvegr.org © 2006

Time-Keeping

The Two Great Seasons

The major unit of time keeping for Heathens was the two great seasons. Unlike our four seasons, they had two which consisted of Winter and Summer Sometimes they were called Spring and Autumn but it was still only two seasons that were meant. Each one was 26 weeks long. This practice turned into four seasons the farther South one went but for the most part, the Northern Europeans seemed to have kept a two season calendar. (493) The beginning of each season was marked with a great feast. These would have been Winter Nights on Oct. 14th and Sigrblót or Summer-finding on April 14th. The passage of time was counted in Winters and nights. (494) So instead of saying I will see you three days they would have said, I will see you in three nights time. Instead of saying I moved here 3 years ago they would have said I moved here three winters ago. (495) The year was seen as a ring and the completion of one ring (year) and beginning of a new ring was seen as a time of great festivities as is evidenced from the importance that was placed on Jól. The two halves of the year were called misseri, which was equal to six months. The plural misserum indicated twelve months. (496) Both the Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse have terms that support this two-fold division of the year. Just as the year fell in two halves so did the night (24 hours) fall in two halves of 12 hours each. (497)
Although the beginning of Summer is given as April 14th this time might actually start earlier or later officially as some areas considered the beginning of summer when the first flower bloomed or when certain birds returned from their Winter roosts. This is the origin of the title 'Summer-finding.' The finding of this first flower blooming or the return of the bird was then, in affect, 'finding' summer. In some places whoever saw the first bird to return ran to the spot and stuck a pole there and put flowers on the pole and danced around it and sang songs. One of the birds that was especially considered to be the harbringer of Spring was the cuckoo. (498) In fact, the 1st Summer month was named gaukmánuðr which translated means "cuckoo month." (499) This month ran from April 14th through May 13th. Farther South the Germans considered the arrival of spring to be March with the arrival of the stork and the swallow along with the first blooms of the violet. (500) The two half years of the Icelanders was made up of 364 days. This would, of course, cause the seasons to shift with time. This caused the Icelanders much consternation when they noticed that, by their method of time-keeping, that the Summer was moving backwards into Spring. Ari the Learned tells us how they addressed this. One night Thorstein Surt had a dream. He dreamed that he was at the Althing (Great Law Assembly) which was held every Mid-Summer at Thingvellir. In his dream he was the only one awake there but when everyone else was awake, he fell asleep. Ari interpreted this as signifying that when Thorstein was speaking at the Althing everyone else would be quite. The meaning however could also symbolize that by reckoning the seasons wrongly, they were being active when they should be inactive and vice versa. Thorstein came up with a solution which was enthusiastically accepted. He suggested that an extra week be added to the year every seventh year. It is interesting to note that the determination of time and dates was the responsibility of the Althing. The Lawspeaker proclaimed the misseristal for the coming year at the close of the assembly, thus making the keeping of time under the aegis of the gods. (501)

The Turning of the Moon

Even though Northern Europeans had a solar calendar they also had a lunar calendar for common use because it was much easier to reckon time by the moon then by the sun. For this reason they counted by nights instead of by days. A section of time was counted by number of nights, then seennights (7 days), fortnights (14 days), turns (of the month - 29-30 days) and Winters (years). (502) Tacitus confirms that they did count by nights instead of days as well and says that barring accidents or emergency they assembled on the new and full moons because they believed that it was most fortunate to begin transactions during this time. (503) He does not tell us which actions were best for which turn of the moon but we can assume that some actions were better performed on the full moon while others might be better performed on the new moon. These customs were so entrenched in the common people that the church could not rid the people of these customs and were forced to allow them. To this day almanacs give good planting times according to the phases of the moon and if we look at folk-lore we can easily see what actions were best performed on what phase of the moon. Grimm's 19th century accounts of folk-lore give us ample information on this subject. We know from Caesar that it was thought best to fight a battle on the new moon. The new moon (or any day of its increase up until the full moon) was an auspicious time for beginnings. Marriages should be done on the New moon as well as the beginning of building a house or moving into one. The belief was that if done on the new moon or its increase that money, married bliss and house stores would grow or increase with the increase of the moon. Hair and nails were cut at new moon to give them a good chance of growing and cattle were weaned in the waxing light of the moon. It was believed that if they were weaned in the waning light (that is, from the full moon until the next new moon) that they would get lean. Babies were to be weaned by the course of the moon as well. Boys were to be weaned at the full moon and girls to be weaned at the waning moon. Grimm theorizes this was so the boy would grow to be stout and strong and the girl would be slim and elegant. Also if one was to gather healing herbs they should be done on the new moon or its increase because they were considered to be fresh and 'unalloyed' at that time. (504)

Just as there were things believed best done on the new moon and its increase there were things believed best done on the full moon and its decrease. On the full moon and its decrease things involving separating or the ending of things were to be performed. During this time marriages were to be annulled and houses knocked down. In a Calendar printed in 1511 it stated that it was good to chop wood on the moon's waning. There was also a tradition that no wood should be felled during the crescent moon. Grass was not to be mown at new moon but at full. It was also tradition to shoot game on the full and waning moon and treasures must be lifted at full moon. A bed should not be stuffed during the new moon or its increase because it was thought that the feathers would not lie still. It was thought that if you opened a trench by the waxing moon that it would soon close over again and if opened by the waning it would get wider and deeper. It was considered bad to open a vein during the waning moon because it was thought that the blood would gather in the legs. Sevian women believed it not good to wash clothing at the new moon because they believed it would cause the shirt to tear soon. Grimm speculates that another reason for washing by the waning moon could have been because the stains would disappear with the dwindling light. (505)

I would point out that the sheer number of these folk traditions and considering how widespread they are shows that the ideal of conducting certain actions depending on the course of the moon was a deeply ingrained tradition with Northern Europeans that goes back centuries and it cannot be denied that these traditions are Heathen in origin. More of these traditions included the following:

Full and Waning Moon:
- On the waning moon if one was sick and faced it he/she would pray, "As though decreasest, let my pains diminish."
- It was considered a bad omen that the master of the house die during the waning moon. It was believed that the whole family would fall away.
- Fruits that grow below ground should be sown on the waning moon.
- Winter crops should not be sown with the moon stands at the idle (third) quarter.

New and Waxing Moon:
- Approaching the lessoning of sickness from a different direction one could face the new moon and say, "May what I see increase, and what I suffer cease."
- The Esthonians believe that death at the new moon is unlucky.
- Fruits that grow above ground should be sown on the waxing moon.

It seems that, for the most part, the quarter phases did not matter too much. There are very few traditions concerning the half or quarter moons. It seems that like the year and days of the Heathen the moons course was divided into two main phases. The moon was considered either in the increase or the decrease with the full moon being considered part of the decrease and the new moon being considered part of the increase. It is possible that, since the full and new moons last 3 to 4 days that the first few days of the full moon were considered part of the new or waxing cycle and the last few days part of the full or waning cycle. The same would have applied to the new moon. (506) The names for these two cycles was ný and nið. Ný signified the new and waxing cycle while nið signified the full and waning cycle. (507) Grimm supports the idea that the first few days of the full moon would have been considered part of the waxing cycle. (508)

Nights Before Day

That Heathens told time by nights instead of days in confirmed by Caesar in his Gallic Wars. (509) Their calendar of feasts were always fixed by nights instead of days. (510) Each day/night proper began with what we would consider the previous evening. For instance Thursday, using the method of pre-Christian Heathens, would have began the previous evening. Day always followed night and in our lore it was night (Nott) who have birth to day (Dagr). Following, I would like to give a list of the Old Norse day names and month names that I will present for use with reconstructed Heathen calendar.

Day names

Old Norse Day-Name	English Translation	Modern Day Name
Sunnudagr	Sunna's day	Sunday
Mánadagr	Mani's day	Monday
Týsdagr	Tyr's day	Tuesday
Óðinsdagr	Othinn's / Woden's day	Wednesday
Þórsdagr	Torr's / Thor's day	Thursday
Frjádagr	Freyja's/Frigg's day	Friday
Laugardagr	Washing day (511)	Saturday

Month Names

Oct. 14th - Nov. 13th - Winter Finding (1st winter month)
Nov. 14th - Dec. 13th - Frost Moon
Dec. 14th - Jan. 13th - Jól
Jan. 14th - Feb. 13th - Thorri
Feb. 14th - March 13th - Barren Moon
March 14th - April 13th - Single Moon
April 14th - May 13th - Summer Finding (1st summer month)
May 14th - June 13th - Eggtide
June 14th - July 13th - Midsummer
July 14th - August 13th - Haymaking
August 14th - Sept. 13th - Double Moon
Sept. 14th - Oct. 13th - Harvest Moon

These month names are based on the actual Old Norse names for the month or for the blót feast that was held during that month. The Old Norse months began on what was the middle of modern months. Following are my reasons for using the names I present here for the month names.

Winter Finding: The Old Norse word for this month is gormánuðr. (mánuðr = month) This month was considered the first winter month and it is on Oct. 14th that the blót-feast, Winter Finding is held. For this reason I choose Winter Finding as the name for this month.
Frost Moon: The word month is derived from the word for moon. Given the importance Northern Europeans placed on using the moon as a guide for time I thought it appropriate to use the word moon in the month names instead of the word 'month.' The Old Norse name for this month was frermánuðr. Frer means frost so the direct translation of this month name would be Frost Month or Frost Moon.
Jól: The choosing of the name for this month is easily explained as the great Feast of Jól (Yule) falls in it. The Old Norse name for this month was hrútmánuðr or 'Ram-month.'
Thorri: The Old Norse name for this month as Þorri (Thorri) named after the descendent of a giant.
Barren Moon: The Old Norse name for this month was gói which meant roughly 'barren.' Other sources call this month 'hunger month.'
Single Moon: The Old Norse for this month's name was einmánuðr or 'single-month.'
Summer Finding: Like Winter Finding the beginning of this month, the blót feast of Summer Finding or Sigrblót was celebrated. It was the first month of Summer.
Egg-tide: The name for this month is a direct translation of the Old Norse name for it, 'eggtíð' (eggtide).
Midsummer: During this month the great feast of Midsummer or Sun's Wending is celebrated. The Old Norse name was sólmánuðr 'sun-month.'
Haymaking: The Old Norse name for this month was heyannir which is translated as 'hay-making season' or 'haying season'.
Double Moon: The Old Norse for this month was tvímánuðr or Double-month.
Harvest Moon: The Old Norse name for this month was haustmánuðr which is translated as Harvest-month.

LESSON E Questions             (by Lady Arianna aka Donna K.)             Top

Send your answers to the following questions in an email with the subject line:  "Teutonic Religious Practices Lesson E from _______ "

1.  The major unit of timekeeping for Northmen was the two great seasons, what were these seasons?

2.  How long were these seasons?

3.  The beginning of each season was marked with a great feast, what were they and when did they begin?

4.  The passage of time was counted in Winters and nights. How would one say "I'll see you in 5 years and 6 days"?

5.  Fill in the blanks: The year was seen as a _____ and the completion of one ______ (year) and beginning of a new _____ was seen as a time of great __________.

6.  Two halves of a year that equaled to six months were called what?

7.  What is the origin of the title 'Summer-finding.'?

8.  The 1st Summer month was named gaukmánuðr which translated means what?

9.  Fill in the blanks: A section of ________ was counted by number of nights, then seennights (7 days), fortnights (14 days), turns (of the month - 29-30 days) and _______ (years).

10.  T/F:  These lunar customs were so entrenched in the common people that the church rid the people of these customs.

11.  What is the difference between the new moon customs and the full moon customs?

12.  List two traditions of the Full and Waning Moon, and two traditions of the New and Waxing Moon.

13.  The names for these two cycles was ný and nið explain their meaning.

14.  Fill in the Blanks:  _____  always followed _______ and in our lore it was night (Nott) who ________  ________  to day (Dagr).

15.  Give the Modern day with its English translated names for the listed Old Norse day names.

16.  List the names of the months in Old Norse and the dates given by the author.

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