Like many others, Norwegians feels the need for a mid winter bash or feast. Today we call it Jul (a word using the same root as the English Yule), but the basic concept is in other times and places known as Midwinter blot, Yule, Mōdraniht, Dísablót, Kwanzaa, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or many other names. The basic concept remains the same; throw a big party at the darkest time of the year and hope that the sun takes the hint and starts to come back…
In Norway, as in most of Germanic, non-Anglo-Saxon Northern Europe, Yule is celebrated on the 24th. The midwinter celebrations are a direct continuation of the old midwinterblót, given a somewhat thin christian veneer when Norway was christianised a millennia ago – but our habit of throwing a party when the sun turns goes back way beyond that.
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So to everyone out there who happen to read this, I wish a God Jul and a Godt Nytt År.
Or as they would say a millennia ago;
Til árs ok friðar*
*) To a good year and peace / friendship
