#vetrnaetr

Samhain/Halloween/All Hallow's Eve is coming up soon, and as a baby pagan, I'd like to know the Norse version, if there is any.

I'm very fluid in my practice as to whether it's Norse or Celtic, and I'm aware that it can be interchangeable, but it would still be nice to know.

So, what are the differences between Vetrnaetr, Alfablot, and Samhain/Halloween? Is there a Norse version of Halloween? What do you do on that/those day(s)? Any resources you can point me to (preferably not a video, if possible)?

Thank you so much!!! :D

Disclaimers: 

-> these are the celebrations that I personally celebrate. I personally prefer celebrating on equinoxes, solstices, and the dates in the middle of these events, but many other pagans have other preferences or set dates

-> there are also other pagan celebrations that I personally do not take part in but which other pagans might find important. Also, I do not celebrate Samhain, Imbolc, Mabon, and the like, since these are more Irish / Celtic pagan celebrations (though many of the following celebrations are on the same day and carry a similar meaning as these holidays)

Disting / Charming of the Plow:

This day celebrates the overcoming of winter and the revival of nature. It is also called the ‘charming of the plow’ and marks the beginning of the agricultural year and celebrates the hope for spring and a bountiful growing season. 

I celebrate Disablót / Disting at the halfway-point between winter solstice and spring equinox. In 2023, this day fell on the 3rd of February.

Várblót / Spring Equinox:

This day celebrates the return of the sun since as of this day, the days will be longer than the nights. Thus, sun symbolism and sun gods play a big role on this day. It also marks the beginning of spring and therefore has a strong connection to fertility and agricultural themes and the gods connected to these themes. 

I celebrate várblót on the day of the spring equinox, so usually around the 20th of March.

Mayfest / Majblót:

This day marks the half-way point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and it celebrates the end of the colder half of the year and the beginning of summer. It also celebrates the greening, blooming, and blossoming of the plants around us.

I celebrate this holiday on the day that marks the half-way point between the spring equinox and summer solstice. In 2023, this day fell on the 5th of May.

Summer Solstice / Midsummer:

This day is the longest day of the year and celebrates the return of the sun and its light and warmth, life, fertility, and the potential for a good harvest.

This celebration is on the day of the summer solstice, so usually around the 21st of June. 

Freyfest / Freysblót / Freyfaxi:

This day marks the half-way point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. It celebrates the first harvest of the year (usually the grains) and the collection of the fruits of our labours this year. Frey, the god of fertility, is especially celebrated on this day.

I celebrate this holiday on the day that marks the half-way point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. In 2023, this holiday falls on the 7th of August.

Höstblót / Autumnal Equinox:

As of this day, the days will be shorter than the nights. Therefore, this day celebrates the end of the light and warm season, and the preparation for the upcoming dark and cold months. It is also seen as the second harvest festival, where we celebrate the bountiful summer and stock up for winter. 

I celebrate höstblot on the day of the autumnal equinox, so usually around the 23rd of September.

Vetrnætr / Winter Nights:

This day celebrates the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It is the last of the three harvest festivals of the year where we celebrate the end of the harvest season and everything it brought us, and prepare for the harsh winter that is coming.

I celebrate this holiday on the day that marks the half-way point between autumnal equinox and winter solstice. In 2023, this day falls on the 6th of November. The vetrnaetr are often celebrated for 3 days.

Winter Solstice / Midwinter / Yule:

This day celebrates the shortest and darkest day of the year. It celebrates the hardest and darkest part of winter that has been overcome and the return of the sun and its light and warmth. 

I celebrate yule on the day of the winter solstice, so usually around the 21st of December, and yuletide on the 12 days following it.

Have a

blessed Samhain!

I will be performing a Freya ritual and performing other dances with Divinity at this Vetrnaetr event on October 25th near Boulder, CO. Come just for the events, or camp on-location. Tickets and full event details at the link above.

In the Old Icelandic Calendar, winter begins on the Satyrday between Hunting 11th and 17th. Winter Nights celebrates the bounty of the harvest and honors Freya and the fertility and protective spirits called Disir, that She leads (often the Disir are seen as our female ancestors). Give glory to Freya and pour a libation of ale, milk, or mead into the soil an offering to the Disir and the Earth itself.

The festival is also called "Elf-Blessing", "Dis-Blessing", or "Frey-Blessing", which tells us that it was especially a time of honoring the ancestral spirits, the spirits of the land, the Vanir, and the powers of fruitfulness, wisdom, and death.

It marks the turning of the year from summer to winter, the turning of our awareness from outside to inside. Among the Norse, the ritual was often led by the elder woman of a family - the ruler of the house and all within.

- Ubbe MacLean

Divinity Exotic Dance is a goddess-centered group of performers providing:

dance, fire spinning, and other flow arts performances

facilitation of rituals, tantra, and other spiritual practices

adult entertainment for private events.

You can find us at all these places: DivinityDance.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Patreon and premium Snapchat coming soon!

Event Schedule:

5:00pm - Gates open, arrivals, greetings, merriment.

6:03pm - 6:45pm - Blessing/Vetrablot and opening ritual - honor the traditions, gods and goddesses of your Northern ancestors, and the ancestors themselves. Prepare to be smudged, blessed, and participate in-circle with reverence as we remember the old ways and anchor that light into our modern culture. Invocations and offerings at the Vetrnaetr - Winter Nights Altar.

6:45-7:30 Permaculture Lecture / Presentation for the Winter Nights/harvest season by award-winning local regenerative farmer & permaculture designer Nick DiDomenico, concluding with a Humanitree Human/Tree Planting Ritual where 3 participants will be chosen to be planted up their knees in Mother Earth, watered, blessed, and have the opportunity to meditate before being dug up and having a Linden tree, tree of the goddess Freyja, planted in their place.

Music/DJ schedule:

...

I’m trying to make an embroidered altar cloth for all of the pagan celebrations of this year. They’re inspired by and based on traditional German cross stitch patterns. So here’s my design for the Winter Nights / Vetrnætr (feel free to use it yourself :) ):

I'm probably gonna embroider it on a dark orange or red fabric to symbolize the dark season

Pattern:

the patterns in the middle are from a German pattern book from 1607

the border on the top and bottom is from the same German pattern book

The Winter Nights celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It is the last of the three harvest festivals of the year where we celebrate the end of the harvest season and prepare for the harsh winter that is coming. The Winter Nights are often celebrated for 3 days

As always, i want to do a lot of homemade and handmade things to celebrate and give thanks for what i have. These are my plans for this year:

making another wreath 🍁 (like the ones i did for Freyfest and the Autumnal Equinox)

making tree resin salve 🌲

making pumpkin soup 🎃

diy birch bark baskets for my altar 🌳

watching Halloween movies 🎬

making an embroidered altar cloth 🧵

Materials i’ll need:

wreath base + stuff to put on the wreath

selfmade tree resin oil + beeswax + containers for the finished salve

hokkaido pumpkin + other ingredients for pumpkin soup

birch bark + needle & thick thread

vetrnaetr starts today with alfablot

i am

severely underprepared

but fuck it we ball

(i'll tell y'all how my little offering/ritual goes)