The Norse calendar split the year into two halves, summer and winter. In the calendar medieval Icelanders kept, our best-recorded version, each half had six months of 30 days. Four extra “additional nights” (aukanætur) were added every summer to make 364 days, exactly 52 weeks. Because 364 days runs short of the solar year, a “summer supplement” week (sumarauki) was added every few years to keep the calendar in step with the seasons. This was a calendar of weeks and seasons, not of moon phases. Months always began on a set weekday.
For a farming people at the edge of the habitable world, the calendar was a survival tool. It said when to turn animals out to pasture, when to cut hay, and when to slaughter before the winter feed ran out.
The Twelve Months of the Norse Calendar
The year had two halves. Summer, called Náttleysi (‘nightless days’), began on a Thursday between April 19 and 25, a day Icelanders still celebrate as Sumardagurinn fyrsti, the First Day of Summer. Winter, called Skammdegi (“short days”), began on a Saturday in late October, the First Day of Winter (fyrsti vetrardagur). Here are all twelve months in order:
| Summer month (meaning) | Roughly, in the modern calendar |
|---|---|
| Harpa (a woman’s name, perhaps a forgotten goddess) | late April to late May |
| Skerpla (also a woman’s name, perhaps a forgotten goddess) | late May to late June |
| Sólmánuður (sun month) | late June to late July |
| Heyannir (hay-making) | late July to late August |
| Tvímánuður (second month) | late August to late September |
| Haustmánuður (autumn month) | late September to late October |
| Winter month (meaning) | Roughly, in the modern calendar |
|---|---|
| Gormánuður (slaughter month) | late October to late November |
| Ýlir (Yule month) | late November to late December |
| Mörsugur (fat-sucking month) | late December to late January |
| Thorri (frozen snow month) | late January to late February |
| Góa (Góa’s month, a woman’s name) | late February to late March |
| Einmánuður (lone month) | late March to late April |
Several months had more than one name, and the Icelandic calendar is still printed in Iceland’s almanac today. Curious about a particular month? Ask us.
Viking Calendar Celebrations: the Blót
The word blót means ‘sacrifice’ or ‘offering’. It was the heart of pre-Christian worship, and the feasting went with it. The best-attested festivals are three that Snorri Sturluson lists in Ynglinga saga: one at the start of winter “for a good year,” one at midwinter “for growth,” and one in summer “for victory.” Others are known from sagas, place names, and later folk custom:
- Sigrblót (victory sacrifice): at the start of summer, for success in the season’s voyages and battles.
- Álfablót (sacrifice to the elves): a private, household rite around the start of winter. The skald Sigvatr Þórðarson described it. He was turned away from farm doors in Sweden around 1019 because a blót was under way inside.
- Vetrnætur (Winter Nights): the feast at the start of winter in late October, often linked with the Álfablót and Dísablót.
- Jól (Yule): the midwinter feast. According to Hákonar saga góða it began on “hökunótt,” midwinter night, and lasted three nights, until King Haakon the Good moved it to coincide with Christmas.
- Thorrablót: a feast at the start of the month of Thorri. It is mentioned in medieval sources and was revived in 19th-century Iceland. Today the first day of Thorri is Bóndadagur, ‘Husband’s Day,’ a later folk custom.
- Konudagur (the first day of Góa): “Wife’s Day,” a later Icelandic folk custom rather than a Viking-age feast.
- Dísablót (sacrifice to the dísir, female guardian spirits): the date is uncertain, somewhere between the start of winter and late winter. In Uppsala, Sweden, the related Disting market has been held since the Middle Ages.
In the United States, Leif Erikson Day is observed every October 9, honoring the Norse voyage to North America around the year 1000.
About Asgard Alaska
We are committed to helping people explore the Viking way of life while using the natural beauty of Alaska as our backdrop. The Norse are a fascinating culture that inspire us to be more human in the face of mechanization and computerization.
We look forward to the day you can mark Winter Nights or Yule with us around a real longhouse fire. A gift to our Land Fund, tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, helps get us there.
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Sources
- The Viking Herald, What are the most important Viking holidays?
- Time Nomads, The Norse Wheel of the Year: Viking Calendar Holidays
- Norse Spirit, Norse Holidays and Celebrations
- Wikipedia, Early Germanic calendars: the Icelandic calendar