The Origins of Christmas and Yule (Part 2)
The Germanic Calendar and why Christmas didn't replace Yule.
“If we browse the internet for holidays of the Germanic people, we mainly find pages presenting an octopartite year circle, the so-called ‘eight-spoked wheel of the year’ based on the solstices, the equinoxes and four moon feasts between. This year circle has absolutely no historical basis. Although it is very popular in neopagan circles, especially within Wicca and eclectic Asatru, there is no verified evidence for such a year circle as basis for the seasonal festivities. The same is true for the Celtic feasts within the year circle, because the Gauls, too, used a lunisolar calendar as we know from the examples of Coligny and Villards d’Heria (Olmstedt,, 1992). If one has internalised such ideas, one should get rid of them immediately!” An extract from ‘The Lunisolar Calendar of the Germanic Peoples (2021) by Andreas Zautner.
The lunisolar calendar of the Germanic peoples
Literary and archaeological evidence show that the Germanic peoples and their neighbours followed a lunisolar calendar which means that they did not observe the solstices or equinoxes. In the old Germanic calendar, the seasons began and ended on a full moon. In the Anglo Saxon calendar, described by the Venerable Bede in the 8th century, the beginning of winter began on the full moon of the tenth or eleventh lunar month, depending on whether it was a leap year. This moon was called Winterfylleth meaning the winter full moon. The start of summer began on the full moon of the fourth lunar month and was called Eosturmonath meaning Easter month in Old English. The beginning and end of each month took place on a new moon.
Everyday folk would not have been able to just look up at the sky and know exactly when the winter solstice was. Those who built Stonehenge which was designed to capture the last rays of the setting sun on the winter solstice and Newgrange, which is aligned with the winter solstice sunrise did have this knowledge. However, these structures are rare and without this understanding, people simply calculated the passing of time by observing the moon’s changing phases.
In almost all lunar calendars each month begins with the first sighting of the waxing crescent known as ‘the sparking of the new moon’. In German, the two moon phases are traditionally called ‘obsigend’ for the prevailing or waxing moon and ‘nidsigende’ for the defeated or waning moon. Each of these phases lasts about a fortnight. The unseen moon (Old Norse ‘nith’) is known as the black moon or Hell moon and is in the sky for the three nights before the new moon rises. ‘New’ in Old German is ‘nuwe’ and in Old Norse it is ‘ny’. The full moon in Old German is called ‘wedil’ which is said to come from ancient roots, possibly from the Sanskrit word ‘vidhu’. In the Icelandic calendar, a month went from full moon to full moon.
There are three Germanic calendars that have survived to this day
The Venerable Bede’s ‘De Temporum Ratione, chapter 15 (725 AD). The Venerable Bede was born in 673/674 AD in Northumbria. He was a monk, theologian and historian. He writes that the Anglians brought their calendar with them from the continent. We can assume that there was a similar calendar in Old Saxony.
Einhard’s ‘Vita Karolini Magni’, chapter 29 (circa 830 AD). Einhard was a Frankish scholar and courtier of Charlemagne, king of the Franks and Louis the Pious his son. His work ‘The Life of Charlemagne’ is a biography of the king and emperor.
The Iceland Althing’s Calendar (10th century AD). The Althing was the supreme national parliament of Iceland.
There are also hundreds of mentions in the Sagas, the Old Saxon Heliand (circa 830 AD), Beowulf and the Eddas that describe pre-Christian blots (sacrifices). There are also writings by Muslims and Christians who witnessed pre-Christian Germanic practices.
The Metonic Cycle and leap years
Along with the lunisolar calendar, the Metonic Cycle was used to keep track of time. This is where the moon returns to exactly the same place with exactly the same moon phase every nineteen solar years which is 235 moons. The Stones of Stenness on the Isle of Orkney and the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, were constructed around 5,000 years ago and both align with this cycle.
The names of the Germanic months were named after the full moon of that month. Twelve lunations are 354 days long which is eleven days short of a solar year and after two and a half years there is a whole month difference between the sun and moon which means that the names of the months no longer reflect the current season. So it could still be very cold with snow on the ground for example, but the name of the moon denotes the spring time because the moon has raced on ahead.
To successfully align the sun and moon for the lunisolar calendar to work, seven out of the nineteen years of the Metonic Cycle have to be leap years. This means that a thirteenth moon is added to the summer half of the year (2023 was a leap year). The Germanic peoples had two seasons: winter and summer. The summer half of the year lasts 186.4 days and the winter half lasts 178.8 days. There were six or seven full moons in the summer half of the year and six full moons in the winter half of the year. This method of calculation is believed by some to have been created by the Greeks in the 5th century BC. I talk about the Celtic lunisolar calendar here.
The winter solstice was used to determine when a thirteenth moon was added. Bede in 725 AD writes in his ‘De Temporum Ratione’, ‘When, however, an embolism occurred, that is a year of thirteen lunar moons, they added the extra moon to the summer.” The thirteenth moon was added as a third ‘Litha’ moon after the seventh lunar month. In the Anglo Saxon calendar the moon before the summer solstice was called Aerra Litha meaning ‘early Litha’ and the moon after the summer solstice was called ‘Aeftera Litha’ meaning ‘late Litha’, then came the ‘Third Litha’. The Danish called the thirteenth moon ‘Sildemaen, the Swedish ‘Aukatungle’ and the Norse ‘Aukamanathr’.
By following this method of calculation, the winter solstice would have been during the first Yule month (December) and the Yule sacrifice would have been in January or early February. In Old English, the month corresponding with December is called Aerra Geola meaning ‘early Yule’ and Aeftera Geola meaning ‘late Yule’ corresponds with January and early February. This way of calculating time was still being used in England up until the 7th century and the 11th century in Scandinavia.
Counting Nights
The Roman historian Tacitus in his ‘Germania’, chapter 11 (98 AD) says, ‘the community gathers, if nothing unusual or sudden happens, at certain times when the moon is new or full, because they consider this the luckiest beginning to discuss matters. Also, they do not calculate the number of days, but the number of nights. In this way they state purpose and commitment. Night does precede the day.’ A day for the Germanic peoples was from sundown to sundown with the appearance of the evening star. We can still see remnants of this way of time keeping today. The word ‘fortnight’ in English now means fourteen days and the less used 'sennight’ means seven nights.
‘Weary sennights nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak and pine’. (The witches curse in Macbeth).
Counting Winters
The Germanic peoples did not count in days or weeks or years. They did not even celebrate birthdays. Their time reckoning was always calculated by moons (months) and winters (years). If someone had survived ten winters, for example, then they were ten winters old, whether they had been born in the first month of that year or the twelfth month. In chapter 34 of the Ynglinga Saga (1225 AD) it says, “There a great blot was held and many kings came as it was midwinter. And one winter when many folks were gathered in Uppsala, king Yngvar was there with his sons who were six winters old.”
If the Germanic peoples did not observe the Winter Solstice then when did they actually celebrate Midwinter?
Andreas Nordberg, a well respected scholar in ancient religious holidays, whose research paper is called Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning (the abstract and the summary are both in English) explains that Yule was not observed on the winter solstice but actually took place on the first full moon after the first new moon following the winter solstice. On all of the runic staves and calendar rods he has studied, such as the rune stones at Blekinge and Stentoften, the marking for Yule is always after the winter solstice.
Runic staves and rods like the one below show us how our Germanic ancestors measured time.
Throughout the Nordic region, old literary sources state that the Jutungel moon shone on the Epiphany, a Christian feast that falls on the 6th of January and in chapter 17 of ‘The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseberg’ (circa 100 AD) it describes how the Danes gathered after the winter solstice for their midwinter sacrifices to their gods.
How did Yule become mixed up with Christmas and the Winter Solstice?
Christmas is called Jul in Scandinavia today because of Hakon the Good, the first Christian king of Norway. To convert Heathens to Christianity he decided to move Hokunott, traditionally the first night of Yule, from the full moon of Yule to the winter solstice which as we now know from Part 1 was on the 25th of December at the time.
The following passage from the Saga of Hakon the Good, chapter 15, describes how this happened. ‘He made a law that the festival of Yule should begin at the same time as Christian people held it...Before him, the first night of Yule was on Hokunott, that is midwinter, and Yule was held for three nights. It was his intent, as soon as he set himself fast in the land, and had subjected the whole to his power, to introduce Christianity.’
When did the other Germanic feasts take place?
In chapter 8 of the Ynglinga Saga (circa 1225 AD) it says, “Odin established the same law in his land that had been in force in Asaland…On winter day (first day of winter) there should be a blot for a good year, and in the middle of the winter for a good crop; and the third blot should be on a summer day, a victory-blot…”
The Germanic peoples began their winter on the full moon of Winter Nights and three full moons after that was midwinter, the Yule moon. Three moons after Yule was the first day of summer also known as the full moon of Sigrblot which means victory sacrifice. These were the major ‘blots’ (sacrificial Germanic feasts).
There were other smaller celebrations: the Disting, Disablot, the Saxon Althing and Alfablot which were region specific. There is no historical evidence of a pre-Christian festival at the time of the summer solstice. During the summer half of the year our ancestors were taking full advantage of the clement weather and were trading, travelling, raiding and farming. Every day counted towards being prepared for the winter half of the year.
‘He (Sigurd) traditionally held, as long as paganism prevailed, three sacrificial feasts each winter: one for the winter night, a second for the middle of winter and a third for summer’ (Heimskringla - Olafs saga helga, chapter 117). The major Germanic sacrificial feasts all took place during the winter half of the year.
Three days of feasting
There are many passages in the sagas and other texts that mention that these sacrificial feasts lasted for three days. In chapter 3 of Valla-Ljots Saga it says, “Yes”, Gudmund said, "I see that you believe you did well, but my feeling tells me that there will be bloodied heads before the third winter night. I will give you council to refrain from going there again. Then I will obtain land for you here because I cannot grant your safety over there.”
SUMMARY
The Yule or winter solstice that neopagans celebrate today is based on a Christo-Roman solar calendar.
The winter solstice and Yule are two completely different events. They are not interchangeable terms.
Our ancient ancestors knew of the winter solstice and used it in their calendars’ calculations but it was not a winter celebration.
Christmas did not replace Yule, it replaced the festivals of other sun cults that came before it.
In Scandinavia, Yule was moved from the full moon of January/February to the 25th of December to ease the conversion of Heathens to Christianity.
And finally, Yule was not a celebration for the return of the sun, that is a solar cult tradition. Yule was a sacrificial feast for the coming agricultural season’s success.
I have learnt so much about ancient lunar and solar calendars! I hope that you have found it as fascinating as I did. Next month there will be an in-depth article on the historical Yule which takes place on the full moon of January (25th January to 27th January 2024). You can find the other dates for the rest of the Germanic celebrations for 2024 below. However you celebrate the end of year, I wish you a lovely time and I will be back to writing in January.
Brightest blessings,
Elissa
DATES IN 2024/25 FOR THE HISTORICAL GERMANIC FEASTS
YULE 25th January-27th January 2024
ALTHING OR MARKLO 25th March 2024
SIGURBLOT 23rd April-25th April 2024
WINTER NIGHTS 17th October-19th October 2024
YULE 13th January-15th January 2025
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Moon, Myth and Image by Jules Cashford (2003)
The Lunisolar Calendar of the Germanic Peoples by Andreas E. Zautner (2001)
Andreas Nordberg’s research Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning
Looking for the Lost Gods of England by Kathleen Herbert (1994)
De Temporum Ratione by Bede (725 AD)
Robert Sass’ twenty years research on Germanic and Old Saxon Heathenry - (blog and Youtube channel) Alsidu
Thank you so much for your wonderful, rigorously researched articles.
It seems to me that you have a genuine feeling for what we think are our ‘traditional’ festivals but I admire that you are not afraid of asking questions about their authenticity. A fabulous combination of heart and mind!
Thank you once again and I hope you enjoy whatever-it-is-you-are-observing at this time of year. 🙏
That is A LOT to take in, and I will surely (sadly) not remember much, but still found it fascinating! Thank you for doing all the research and sharing it!