Vetrnaetr (Winter Nights) marked the start of winter in the Old Norse calendar in mid-autumn, attested in saga literature as an occasion for the Alfablot (sacrifice to the elves) and for veneration of the disir and ancestral spirits, alongside seasonal slaughtering and feasting. It was one of the three great seasonal blot observances of the pre-Christian Scandinavian calendar named in Ynglinga saga, alongside the midwinter and summer sacrifices.
Facts
Reckoning
Calendar SystemOld Norse and Germanic pagan calendar 1 Its own record states it marked the start of winter "in the Old Norse calendar," the calendar this enum value names. Fixed or MovableFixed date in its own calendar 1 Observance
Observance Type Observance TypeVeneration of a deity or holy figure 1 Observance Type Connections
Associated With
This source names Norse directly: "marked the start of winter in the Old Norse calendar in mid-autumn, attested in saga literature as an occasion for the Alfablot (sacrifice to the elves) and for veneration of the disir and ancestral..."
Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson
Belongs to Tradition
Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson
Follows Calendar
Related To
Sources
1. The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson, The American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1916on the seasonal blot cycle and the AlfablotView the Source Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001s.v. Vetrnaetr, Winter NightsView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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