Frilandic holidays




summary

February 1: Landseganung
March 31: Sumerfenŝan
April: Austar
June 21: Medsumer
September 21: Harbist
October 14 - 17: Wentarnahtan
December 20: Modernaht
December 21 - January 2 Medwentar


Details

Landseganung ("Land blessing")
Fertility festival in honour of the god Ing. Farmers ask Ing for a good harvest for the upcoming year and to charm the plough and the field.

Sumerfenŝan ("Summer finding")
In ancient times spring was equalled to summer in Friland, hence the name "Summer finding". Summer finding was originally celebrated at the first signs of spring: the one who found the first crocuses or bird eggs, brought them to his village as proof. The painting, hiding and searching of Easter eggs is in many countries a remnant of this custom, just like the search for lapwing eggs. Because the search for eggs became so common in Friland that it damaged the environment, it was decided in 1870 to celebrate Summer finding on a fixed date from that moment onwards. One lapwing egg could then be symbolically offered to the king. The search for eggs in the field was replaced by hiding and searching for painted chicken eggs.

Austar ("Easter")
During Austar the victory of summer over winter and the return of the light is celebrated. Abroad people used to celebrate the same festival under the name Ostara or Eostre, which these days lives on in Christianized forms like Easter, Walpurgis night and May day.
        Austar is named after the spring goddess with the same name, who is associated with hares, bunnies and chickens. In other countries the Easter bunny is still a remnant of this. During this period it is also customary to light bonfires: these fires bring luck and fertility and therefore they must be as big as possible. For this reason it is also customary that people jump over the fire and blacken their faces with charcoal from the fire.
        In many places a tree or decorated pole is also erected, where the people then dance around. These dances are associated with the folk belief that during Austar the Alban ("Elves") perform dances at open spaces in the woods to grant the earth fertility.
        At the beginning of Austar lantern and torch processions are held at night. The day after there is a parade in which children carry decorated sticks. During this parade there is a ship on wheels in honour of the goddess Fri, in the crowd there are also wild men, people dressed up as animals and men in women's clothing. At the climax a symbolic marriage is performed between a boy and a girl from the community, who represent the god Ing and his bride. Bread is also baked in all kinds of shapes, symbols and animal figures.

Medsumer ("Midsummer")
The celebration of the Summer solstice is dedicated to the gods Ŝunar and Ing and to the Elves. On the day before the solstice people bathe in a holy well: this gives strength for the rest of the year. On that day many young people pick flowers, dance with them through the streets and throw them in bonfires to ward off ill.
        During the solstice itself a large fire is lit, thereafter there is a procession with torches and then burning wheels are rolled down a hill. These large, wooden wheels are filled with straw and symbolise the path of the sun through the sky.

Harbist ("Harvest/Autumn")
During Harbist the end of the harvest period is celebrated. The Elves ("Alban") and the Vanir ("Wenan") are thanked for the harvest with offerings and from the last ear of corn that comes from the field a harvest puppet is made that is called "the old one". The puppet is decorated and brought into the village with celebration, after which people dance around it.
        At night a large party is held. This party can be very turbulent and the sober Frilanders then hold wild dances and drink large amounts of alcohol. A common joke in Friland is that most children are born nine months after Harbist.

Wentarnahtan ("Winter nights")
During the three winter nights people ask for a mild winter and bring offerings to the disan (female ancestors) and the wihtan (nature spirits). Especially women play an important role in this feast and men are therefore expected to take over the household from their wives during this period.

Modernaht ("Mother night")
Mother night is celebrated on the evening before the Midwinter celebration starts. During this feast offerings are made to the "mothers", which refers to the disan, i.e. the female ancestors.

Medwentar ("Midwinter")
Medwentar, also called Jehwal ("Yule"), is the most important festival of the year. The celebration begins during the winter solstice and lasts for twelve nights, which represent the twelve months of the year and are a graduator of what will happen in the upcoming year. The new year usually starts in the last days of the celebration.
        During Midwinter people raise a pine tree in the garden or the living room and decorate it with lights and apples, sweets are also often used for that and people bake bread in all kinds of shapes. During the "Medwentarmel" (Midwinter meal), the Frilandic version of the Christmas dinner, pork is often eaten from a pig that was sacrificed to the god Ing. They also drink specially brewed "Jehwalaluŝ" (Yule beer) with a high alcohol percentage, which they use to bring out a toast to the ancestors.

In many places sword dances are held: men with swords stand in a circle and within that circle naked men dance around while evading the swords. These days it is a sport but in ancient times it was a warrior ritual in which men showed their courage. At the end of the dance the winner is symbolically "killed" as an offering to the god Wodan.


According to folklore the boundaries between the nine worlds are thinner during the twelve nights of Midwinter, which makes it easier for spirits from the afterlife to wander the earth. Because some of these are evil it is attempted to ward off these spirits. This is done by bell ringing, which is nowadays seen as a Christian custom but actually has a heathen origin. Spirits are also scared away by blowing Midwinter horns, jingling little bells, hitting pots and pans and of course with fireworks.
        In the evening young men dress up in white sheets or furs of bears and wolves and carry demonic masks or blacken their faces, with this they depict spirits. They also carry a girdle with little bells attached to it and sometimes a chain on their ankle. They dance through the streets, stamp on the ground and make a lot of noise to scare off evil spirits. They also bring fertility for the upcoming year: everyone they run into is "hit" with rods and bundles of twigs to grant them fertility. When they meet girls they try to entice these for a dance, a kiss, or more... They also ring people's doorbells to "steal" a bottle of beer, which the people have already prepared for them because it brings good fortune when they ring your doorbell. In exchange for the beer they gallop on horseback over the fields to make them fertile and/or they "sweep" the streets with brooms, to symbolically drive off evil spirits.

Many people believe that during the twelve nights of Midwinter the "Wodanŝa Har" (Raging Army) rides through the sky. Abroad this is also known as the Wild Hunt. This "raging host" is led by the god Wodan and consists of the Ainharjars, the fallen heroes of Walhalla. They ride on black horses and are accompanied by Valkyries, wolves, hounds and ravens. Everyone who meets the Raging Army has to show them respect, those who don't are grabbed and dragged through the air for kilometers, or worse. The same goes for the "Ŝunarwagan" (Thunder wagon), the billy-goat wagon of the god Ŝunar on which he rides through the sky during that period.
        A reflection of this folk belief is the "Skimalridar" (Grey horse rider), a man with a grey beard and an eye patch who is accompanied by two men who are dressed up as a stork and a billy goat. The grey rider represents Wodan, the stork is associated with Ing and the billy goat with Ŝunar. Children leave food and hay at the hearth as an offering to the grey rider and his horse, in exchange for that they get sweets, apples, cake in the shape of a horseshoe and other delicacies. In most other countries the feast of the Grey Rider later changed into Santa Clause and Sinterklaas. The people who blacken their faces and represent spirits have remained there as Elves and Black Pete's. In Friland however, the people have kept the oldest and most original form of this custom.