Komiði sæl og blessuð, vinir,
Veturnætur, or “Winter Nights,” is an Old Icelandic holiday that celebrates the coming of winter [1].
Now, before anyone protests, not many people agree on an exact date for when this occurred. Some people celebrate this with the full moon (which was on the 16th of this month). Though, I would not be surprised if other dates float around as well. Personally, I decided on this weekend to recognize this transitional period.
So, based on my personal celebration, Veturnætur takes place from today until Sunday morning (roughly 21st of Oct. at 7pm until 23rd of Oct. at 7am), thus the Veturnætur fall on tonight and tomorrow night. This takes place as the months of the Old Icelandic calendar change (when using the winter solstice and 30 day periods as the basis for calculation – found on this site) [2].
Today, in accordance with a modern version of the Old Icelandic calendar is:
Frjádagur, 30 Haustmánuður 2016.
Tomorrow we enter the first month of winter:
Gormánuður.
Gormánuður means “Slaughtering month,” as the people of Iceland would be preparing their stocks for the upcoming winter [3].
Thus, Veturnætur was a period for final harvests and preparations for winter. This often included games, weddings, and sacrifices. Sacrifices were often made to the disir, female guardian spirits that watched over families, farms, and sometime individuals [4].
I am very new to this realm of festivities, so I may not know some of the intricacies that other people follow. My way is not the only way, but, in the modern world, you should do what is most convenient for you. I am going to celebrate tomorrow night, the first full night of winter, with a warm fire, good company, and food – all with respect to this great and boundless world.
But honestly, you can do whatever. I kind of do my own personal thing. This is by no means strictly historical. We know little of it, so make what you’d like of it, within reason.
Just have fun, and have happy Winter Nights!
Skál og ferð vel.
SOURCES AND NOTATIONS:
[1] Viðar Hreinsson, The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, vol. 5 (Leifur Eiríksson Publishing, 1997), 417.
[2] Ibid., 422. But also shown on this site (also linked above): http://www.time-meddler.co.uk/icelandic.html.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., 407.
Veturnætur!
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