Thorrablót

Thorrablót (pronounced THORR-a-blote) is a mid-winter festival celebrated in Iceland and Norway. It’s a nice contrast to all those temperate climate holidays I’ve been enjoying that focus on an early spring. Thorrablót occurs in the coldest part of winter- no thaw yet in sight.

Thorri is the name of the fourth month of winter in the old Icelandic calendar, and a blót is a feast. The Thorrablót can happen any time in the next several weeks. Thorri might have been named for Thor, the Norse god of thunder, or for a legendary King of Norway, but now in Iceland Thorri is known as "King Winter", depicted as an old grey man, kind to some and harsh to others. All of wintertime is referred to as King Winter in Iceland and in Norway... I guess with a winter as exceptional as theirs it’s not surprising that it has a personality!

Agenda:
1. Make a toast:
Although all of Iceland celebrates the Thorrablót as a feast, those of the Ásatrú faith- the Neopagans of Iceland- also practice it in a more ceremonial way, showing respect both to nature and to the spiritual and cultural traditions of the past.

An Ásatrú blót starts with a toast to the gods- the Ásatrú believe in the gods and spirits of the Nordic pantheon, and so they dedicate the Thorrablót to Thor, the god of Thunder, but might also toast any number of other gods and spirits: Skadhi, Sunna, the Jotuns, the Vanir, and others. The essence of the toast is to ask the gods for protection, for strength to weather the winter, and that they allow winter to be brief.

The beverage of choice for the Thorrablót toast is Brennivín (also called Black Death), drunk from a horn; but we will use cider, drunk from a glass.

My toast today:

May God protect us and keep us warm and dry. 
May God provide shelter for those with no homes, and food for those who are hungry. 
And may I find ways to help God with this task. Skål!

2. Have a Feast:
In the old days, this was a good time to use up the winter stores that were probably beginning to rot. Now Icelanders eat archaic "traditional" foods for Thorrablót that sound pretty horrible: Headcheese, rotten shark meat, dried horse, and worse sounding stuff. 

Traditionally, the foods at a Thorrablót have all been preserved in some way- by pickling, salting, smoking, drying or fermenting- because traditionally nothing fresh was available in winter. The feast is accompanied with lots of drink, merrymaking, poetry readings, song, and dancing.

Foods in Iceland are strange to me at the best of times, and I will not be eating any rotten shark. Here are three Icelandic recipes that I found yummy- one pickled, one smoked, and one dried.

Niðursoðnar Rauðrófur (Pickled Beets)
Because of the long winter, all kinds of pickled vegetables are essential.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. red beets
• 1-c. white vinegar
• 1/4-c. sugar

1- Scrub the beets well with a brush and cut off the ends. Place in a pot and fill with water until the beets are well covered. Cook until a fork can easily be pressed through, about 25 -30 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2- Meanwhile, heat the vinegar and sugar just until the sugar dissolves.

3- When the beets have cooled enough to handle, peel off the skins and slice. Place into a jar with the vinegar and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Síldarsalat (Herring Salad)
Pickled herring is more popular in Iceland than smoked herring, but hard to find here. I settled for a can of smoked herring (a.k.a., kipper snacks). 

This salad is surprisingly tasty, though not popular with my younger set.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of kipper snacks
• 1 sweet apple
• 3-4 slices pickled beet
• 1/3 c. mayonnaise (or part sour cream)

Yield: Serves 2-

1- Cut the herring into small slices and place in a bowl. 

2- Peel and cube the apple, and cube the beets. Add to the herring.

3- Add the mayonnaise and mix well.





Ávaxtagrautur (Stewed Dried Fruit)
This was the most popular with the kids!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 c. mixed dried fruit – the usual Icelandic combination is prunes, apples, apricots, pears and peaches 
• 1/2 c. sugar 
• 1/4 c. cornstarch 
• cream

Yield: Serves 6-

1- Cut the dried fruit into small pieces with kitchen scissors. Soak in 4 c. water for 1 hour, then simmer until soft- about 40 minutes.
2- Add the sugar. Mix the cornstarch with cold water and add. Simmer until thick.

3- Serve hot or cold, with a dribble of cream.

3. Play Kubb:

Team One, minus the camera person.

This is a great Viking game, still quite popular in Norway and Iceland. I made a Kubb set several years ago, and, since the weather was nice, we ventured out to play. Basically, you throw sticks at the blocks. Find out more about this game here.

Team Two surveys the field.

Nice form for throwing.

Vasant Panchami

Vasant Panchami is the first day of spring in India; it’s celebrated on the fifth day after the new moon in January or February (Vasant means "spring" and Panch means "fifth").

The colors yellow and white are important today: People wear yellow and white clothes, eat yellow and white foods, and decorate with yellow and white flowers, to symbolize purity, peace and knowledge.

It's also the birthday of Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of education, learning, and the fine arts.


Agenda today:

1. Look for signs of spring:
It may be spring in India, but we have another month of winter coming. Still, I can see signs of change: The nut trees are blossoming (to which my sinuses can attest), camellias and violets are blooming, and early flowering bulbs are shooting up. Spring is definitely on its way- just not quite yet.

Today I will find joy in the first signs of spring.




2. Make a Rangoli:

To prepare for Vasant Panchami, Hindus buy new (yellow) clothes, and decorate their homes with flowers. They also make rangoli designs on the ground in front of the door of the house with flower petals, to welcome Saraswati.


I don’t have many flower petals right now, but I made a rangoli with yellow, white, and red rice flour, leaves, and pine needles. For more information about rangoli, and how I made the colored rice flour, see Pongal.

1- First I looked at some rangoli designs and made a plan.

Sadie thinks this is interesting, but odd.


2- Then I drew circles on my sidewalk with white chalk.

3- Then I sprinkled on the rice flour, and rubbed it in a bit.













4- And finally, I added some leaves, pine needles, and a camellia blossom in the center.















3. Start a new project:
Because Vasant Panchami is the birthday of Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of education and the fine arts, it is an auspicious day to start new projects. This festival is celebrated in many schools in India, and often parents will choose this day to teach children to write their first words.


Folks all over India take part in art and painting competitions, poetry recitations, and music festivals today.

 Students will take a break from studying, and put their books on the altar to be blessed.

Since today is an auspicious day to start a new project, I decided to finally cut the pieces for the baby quilt I promised to make (on the Winter Sacrifice moon) to donate to a child in need.

Moong dal with naan- yumm!


4. Make moong dal:
Sweet saffron rice and saffron wheat pudding are traditionally served for Vasant Panchami, but, really, any yellow food is appropriate.

I'm pretty tired of making sweets, and what I really feel like tonight is a big bowl of steaming hot yellow lentils, called moong dal in India.



Ingredients:

• 1 medium size onion
• 1/2-inch ginger root
• 1 medium size tomato
• 1-c. moong dal (yellow lentils)
• 1/4-tsp. cayenne powder
• 1/2-tsp. turmeric powder
• salt
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil or ghee or butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1/4-tsp. garam masala powder


1- Chop the onion and the ginger root very finely, and also chop up the tomato.


2- Combine the dal, tomato, onion, ginger, cayenne, and turmeric in a pot with 4 c. water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the dal is soft and thick. 

You may need to simmer with the lid off for the last five minutes, or, if the dal looks too thick, you can add a little water. Also add salt to taste.

Spices, pepper and garlic, ready to go into the dal.

3- Meanwhile, peel and mince 4 cloves of garlic and chop one jalapeno pepper.


4- When the dal is done, heat oil or ghee or butter in a small frying pan. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds. Add the garlic and pepper and fry for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, and add the garam masala powder, and stir.


5- Add spices to the dal, and stir well. Serve hot with steamed rice or naan, and a dollop of plain yogurt on top.

Babin Den

Today is the Slavic Babinden (bah-bean-den): Baba is "grandmother", and the in is possessive; den is "day", so the meaning is "Grandmother’s Day". It’s also called Midwives Day.

Babinden is an ancient festival, still celebrated in Bulgaria, to give thanks and show respect to the women (or men) who have helped in the child birthing process, and for all the other skills and knowledge the grandmothers have: Growing food, cooking, herb lore, looking after their grandchildren, and teaching folklore and traditions. 

The roots of this festival, however, are in fertility rites. In Bulgaria, a house full of healthy and beautiful children is a basic value, and so this is still the underlying focus of the rituals on Babinden.

Early in the morning, young women in Bulgaria visit the local midwife or doctor. They bring gifts (socks and shirts), soap, a towel, hot water in a ceramic bottle, and their young children. They perform a complicated symbolic hand-washing ritual, the purpose of which is to ensure easy births in the future and tall, strong children. The midwife gives a silver coin to each child she has delivered.

About lunchtime all the women go back to the midwife’s house without their children, bringing gifts and food: Bread, chicken, sweets, wine and brandy. This is a "women’s only" party (except the doctor might be a man, and sometimes male musicians attend- but they must dress as women) and it gets pretty wild! The women drink, dance, sing dirty songs, tell jokes, and gossip, and it goes on into the night.

Agenda today:
1. Journal:
Today is a good day to think about all the grandmothers in my life: My ancestors and my friends. Also, think about the grandchildren in my life: Honorary grandchildren of the present, and possible children-of-my-children, sometime in the future.

What burning questions would I like to ask my grandmothers? 
What wisdom would I like to share with my grandchildren?

Make a list of grandmothers I have had, and those I have still, and plan small ways to honor each of them in the coming weeks (cards, gifts, food, visits, a candle and a prayer...).

2. Housework:
Every year on Distaff Day I kick off a month of deep cleaning. My house has certain mold-related issues that need attention now, and, also, I like to do indoor painting while I don't have gardening chores calling to me.

I take it one room at a time, and this week I will work on the bedrooms (because they seem to relate to fertility). I hope to:

• Wash the bedding.
• Vacuum and dust, especially under and around the bed.
• Clean the mold from the walls and window.
• Touch up the paint.

3. Make pitka, Bulgarian bread:

Pitka is a basic Bulgarian bread recipe that is made in many ways, with cheese filling, or with honey, etc. I stuck to simple buttery bread, formed as rolls but then baked together so you need to pull it apart to eat it.

This is a nice gift for a Grandmother in your life!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 c. milk 
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3 eggs (reserve 1 egg yolk for brushing)
• 5 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 4 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 6 c. flour
• 1/4 c. butter

Yield: 1 loaf-

1- Heat the milk to warm (100º), and combine with the sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy. 

Kneading with a bread hook.

2- Combine the eggs (reserve 1 yolk for brushing), yogurt, and oil in a small bowl. Whisk the salt and flour together in large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and the egg mixture to the flour, and mix to make a smooth, soft dough, slightly sticky to the touch. (I mixed on low in my Kitchenaide).

3- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes (I used the bread hook on my Kitchenaide).

4- Divide dough into 3 balls in a large greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

5- Oil a 9 or 10-inch round cake pan or spring-form pan. Melt the butter. On a floured surface, divide the dough into 6 or 7 pieces, each about 7-inches long.

Before final rising.

6- Brush one side of each piece with the melted butter, roll up into a spiral, brush some more butter onto the outside, and put it in the pan. Repeat to make 6 or 7 rolls.

7- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Let the rolls rise again until they fill the pan, then brush with the egg yolk thinned with a little water, and put them in the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden on the outside and completely baked on the inside.

5. Painted Grandmothers:
My art class students painted pictures of traditional-looking grandmothers in headscarves (I found the idea here), and made cards for their own grandmothers.

Supplies:

• books with Eastern European designs
• watercolor paper
• pencils
• water-soluble crayons
• water
• brushes
• scissors

1- Draw the shape of the grandmother onto a piece of watercolor paper with pencil. (I made a cardboard template as a model.)

Add the face, the arms, the legs, and the shoes.

2- Look at samples of Eastern European designs and sketch several you might want to use.

3- Begin to draw outlines of patterns to fill the spaces on the dress and the scarf. Keep them simple, as you will be using crayons to add color.

4- Color in the shapes and patterns, and use a slightly damp brush to blend the colors. 

The trick to using water-soluble crayons is to color softly, and use only a tiny bit of water to blend.

5- When the crayon is dry, go back around every shape and design with black Sharpie.

6- The last step is to cut out the grandmother and mount it onto a card!












6. Hand-washing ceremony:

In Bulgaria and elsewhere, water is a symbol of purity and has healing powers. Many Bulgarians will have a house-blessing after Epiphany (January 6) with a sprinkling of holy water, and several other water related rituals are also performed this month.

We had a small hand-washing ceremony at the end of art class this week, outside under the apple tree. My students got to hand me the soap, and pour water over my hands. I splashed the water up into the air and said "May you all be tall, beautiful, and healthy!" Then I gave them each a silver coin from my stash of foreign coins!