Winter Nights or Vetrnætr

The Winter Nights, called Vetrnætr, is a twelve-day festival that begins on a night in mid- to late-October. (The exact dates vary with the regional weather; in northern areas it tends to be held earlier.) The name Vetrnætr is Old Norse, composed of two words, vetr meaning winter, and nætr meaning nights.

Winter Nights is celebrated by the Ásatrú; Ásatrú is an Icelandic name, taken by the modern-day Norse and Germanic people who worship the old northern gods (such as Thor, Odin, and Frey) and goddesses (such as Freya and Frigg). 

Though its practice was interrupted, Ásatrú has been reconstructed as closely as possible to the original religion of the Northern European people, based on the surviving historical records.

Winter Nights marks the end of summer, the start of the winter, and the beginning of a new year. It celebrates the bounty of the harvest, and it honors the Norse Goddess Freya- goddess of the harvest, artistic endeavors, and passion- and also the Disr, who are the ancestral mothers.

Agenda this week:
1. Set up my ancestor altar (ofrenda)
2. Disr meditation

3. Make more runes
4. Throw the runes
5. Make fiskesuppe (fish soup)
6. Feast and blót

1. Set up my ancestor altar (ofrenda):

This is a good week to set up an ofrenda or ancestor altar. An ofrenda is a special table for the Mexican Days of the Dead that holds offerings and decorations, such as arches, candles, incense, skeleton toys, marigolds, photographs, sugar skulls, as well as some of the ancestor’s favorite foods and things, and little gifts.

I've been collecting and making things for my ofrenda for years. This year I've arranged:

• skeletons, to remind me that death is a part of life
• tree of life candles, symbolic of the creation
• a sugar skull, traditional Mexican candy
• photos of my father and mother-in-law

2. Disr meditation:
My female ancestors are my Disr- grandmother spirits and guardians of the household. They have special knowledge in matters of family luck, illness, childbirth, personal problems, and other everyday matters.

Today I light a candle on my ofrenda and settle into meditation. I bring a picture into my mind of my grandmothers- those strong German, Dutch, and Anglo women who traveled across the ocean and the frontier. I read their names out loud, and picture them gathering around me. 

I ask my grandmothers to make themselves known to me and stand by me during the coming year, that I may face the demands of the world with the wisdom of my kin at my back.

3. Make more runes:

Runes are an ancient writing system created about 100 - 200 AD by Germanic tribes and spread all over middle and northern Europe by the migration of these tribes. The runes were used by the Germans, the Scandinavians, the Angles and Saxons. They are found inscribed onto stone, bone, and metal, and were used for poems and ornamentation, as well as divination.

I've been working on a set of runes, burned onto circles cut from a hazel branch. Today I will add to my collection.

4. Throw the runes:
Runes are used as a divination tool- I don't have a complete set yet, so I use virtual runes such as the ones at Ifate.

Today I asked "where should I focus my attention this fall?" and I got a mildly cautionary and generally encouraging reading: 

1- Past: Jerra (Plenty) is the symbol of the harvest, indicating that I have had a successful harvest time and now I'm looking forward to reap rewards from past efforts. 
2- Present: Gebo (Gifts) means that I have been given something- a divine gift, a generous action, or a thing of value.
3- The future: Laguz inverted (Water, Life). In the upside-down position this means I need to beware of a crisis of creativity and spirit, and loosing touch with my true dreams.  
4- In my path: Sowilo (Guidance, Honor) represents the sun, an endless source of great energy and guidance. This is what stands in my path forward- a symbolic goal to be reached for, a renewal of hope and achievement, a resurgence of positivity and progress, health and healing.
5- Source of strength: Kenaz (Torches) symbolizes energy and light. I have a fire of creation and power to light my way. 

5. Make Fiskesuppe (Norwegian fish soup):
In the old days, friends and family would gather at farmstead feast halls during the twelve days of Winter Nights, to play ball games on the frozen lakes during the day, and eat and drink to excess during the night. I decided to make this hearty fish soup to warm my family after a day of heavy rain.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lb. boneless, skinless cod or halibut fillet 
• 4 cloves garlic 
• 2 stalks celery 
• 1 small onion 
• 1 green or red bell pepper 
• 1 small leek 
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter 
• salt and black pepper 
• carrots 
• 1 parsnip
• 2 medium new potatoes 
• 1-c. fish stock 
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 c. heavy cream 
• 2 c. milk
• 1-tsp. white wine vinegar
• pinch of sugar

Serves 6-

1. Prepare the fish by cutting into 1-inch chunks, season with salt and pepper, and return it to the refrigerator. 

2. Mince the garlic, chop the celery, onion, and peppers, and slice the white part of the leek. 

3. Heat butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the prepared veggies, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until soft, 8-10 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, thinly slice the carrots, and peel and cut the parsnips and potatoes into 1-inch pieces.

5. Add fish stock and the rest of the vegetables to the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 

6. Whisk the flour into the heavy cream. After 5 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the milk. Gradually whisk in the flour and cream mixture. Add vinegar, and a pinch of sugar. Whisk together and taste- the soup should have a nice sweet-tart flavor behind the fish flavor; adjust as necessary.

7. Bring the soup back to a boil, stirring constantly, to thicken. 

8. Reduce heat to medium again and add the fish. Continue to cook, stirring gently, until fish is cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Serve with bread.

6. Blót:
After the food, the people would have a blót, which means “to worship with sacrifice”. The purpose of the blót is to thank the gods for a successful end to the growing season, to share the bounty with the gods, and to ask for protection against the harshness of winter. 

In the old days the sacrifice would have been a blood sacrifice of a horse, pig, or cow, because they were farmers and had those. Today the Ásatrú usually substitute mead, beer, or juice. The offering is made with a lot of ceremony, and those gathered can sense that the deity has tasted the drink. After that the group passes the mead around and everyone makes a toast and takes a sip.