Fire-saving-day
Yesterday was the fourteenth day of jul and the traditional "fire-saving day" - eldbjørgdagen - sometimes also called the "fire-day's jul". It's the day when you make the yearly offering to the fire to save your house and home and yourself from fires and other incidents involving fire - like burning yourself when cooking or baking. But, of course also to save the fire through winter for warmth. To many heathens - and also to many Christians in the old farming society - fire equals Loke (Loki), often perceived as female when dealt with in this shape.
Us Norwegians have never cared much for big words and lots of ceremonies, so the rituals are very simple and basically consist of a short prayer and a libation. For instance, in Telemark they make a toast in beer, and after passing the drinking bowl around, the mistress of the house throws the remaining beer onto the fire and says:
This high, my fire, but not higher nor hotter!
Guri Lykkjen in Valdres used this simple prayer as she threw a spoonfull of beer into the fire:
I drink to you (meaning "in your honour").
Guri became very old and would have turned 107 this year had she lived. She is one of my adopted ancestors.
Also bread and meat are - or at any rate used to be - offered some places, but I am not familiar with any rituals or prayers connected to food offerings (yet).
