Time keeping:




Time:
The Germans had a totally different understanding of time compared to us "modern" people, in our present society everything is rush rush rush, deadlines, time schedules, we all have clocks and watches and we all eat, work, sleep, etc. at prefixed times, especially in my country the Netherlands people are very hectic, and I bet this is also the case in most other modern countries.
This is probably the result of an over-organised society, in ancient times people had no corporations with strict rules and a 9 to 5 working day, everything was done when it was needed and people didn't stress themselves like we do nowadays.
Most ancient peoples had a somewhat "Jamaican" attitude; "relax man!", they worked hard of course, but they didn't lay as many pressure on themselves as we do today.
They awoke when it got light outside and they went to sleep when it got dark, they lived from day to day and did what they felt was right.
Time was measured by counting the nights and looking at the position of the sun and moon, the Germans were also aware of periodical changes like full moon, new moon, and solstices; when they made an appointment with someone they said something like;"after 3 nights I will meet you near the big tree outside the village when the sun is at one quarter of it's highest position."

Days:
Days were counted in nights and a new day began as soon as it got dark, when somebody had to define a certain date he said something like;"This will take place after 5 nights" or "This happened 8 nights ago", I am not entirely sure whether the concept "week" was known to our ancestors but because the days were paired in a group of 7 days they probably also counted by groups of 7 days (=1 week).
Immediately after sunset the next day began, for instance when it was Tiwaz's day and it became dark it became Wodan's night; the new day, and when it got light is was Wodan's day, after sunset it became Thunar's night, etc.
The Germans probably copied their day names from the Romans, they just translated them into their own language and replaced the Roman gods with their Germanic equivalents, the name "Saturday" (dies Saturni in Latin) remained the same in most places, probably because there was no Germanic equivalent for Saturnus or because it resembled an already existing Germanic word that had phonetical similarities with the Latin word, in the Northern Germanic language Saturday was changed into Laugardagr, which means "washing day", the Scandinavians always took a bath on Saturday which was considered very tidy in that time because most people hardly bathed at all.
The days were not only named after the gods but also dedicated to them, so for instance Wednesday was the holy day of Wodan and people who wanted to bring him an offering often did this on "his" day to give an extra meaning to their offering.

  • Sunday: is named after Sunnon, the incarnation of the Sun.
  • Monday: is named after Menon, the incarnation of the Moon.
  • Tuesday: is named after the god Tiwaz, an alternative theory says that it is named after the folk assembly (Ding) that was held on this day.
  • Wednesday: is named after the god Wodan.
  • Thursday: is named after the god Thunar.
  • Friday: is named after the goddess Freya (in Scandinavia after Frigg).
  • Saturday: is named after the Roman god Saturnus, it was probably directly copied from the Latin name.

    I shall now give some examples of old Germanic day names:

    Day:
    Sunday
    Monday
    Tuesday
    Wednesday
    Thursday
    Friday
    Saturday
    Meaning:
    Sun day
    Moon day
    Tiwaz's day
    Wodan's day
    Thunar's day
    Freya's day
    Saturnus(?) day
    Latin name:
    dies Solis
    dies Lunae
    dies Martis
    dies Mercuri
    dies Jovis
    dies Veneris
    dies Saturni
    Old Norse name:
    Sunnudagr
    Mánadagr
    Týsdagr
    Óðinsdagr
    Þórsdagr
    Frjádagr
    Laugardagr
    Anglo Saxon name:
    Sunandaeg
    Monandaeg
    Tiwesdaeg
    Wodnesdaeg
    Thunresdaeg
    Frigedaeg
    Sæterdaeg
    Middle Dutch name:
    Sondach
    Maendach
    Disendach
    Woensdach
    Donresdach
    Vrîdach
    Saterdach
    Old Frisian name:
    Somnadei
    Monadei
    Tysdei
    Wernsdei
    Thunresdei
    Fredei
    Saterdei
    Proto-Germanic name:
    Sunnodagaz
    Menodagaz
    Tiwadagaz
    Wôdanadagaz
    Thunaradagaz
    Fraujôdagaz
    Saterdagaz

    Unlike the names of the months the day names have been left intact in most Germanic languages, in some countries the church succeeded into changing the names like in Iceland, while in Germany it only succeeded into renaming the day of Wodan into "Midweek" (Mittwoch).
    Here are some examples of the modern day names:

    English name:
    Sunday
    Monday
    Tuesday
    Wednesday
    Thursday
    Friday
    Saturday
    German name:
    Sonntag
    Montag
    Dienstag
    Mittwoch
    Donnerstag
    Freitag
    Samstag
    Dutch name:
    Zondag
    Maandag
    Dinsdag
    Woensdag
    Donderdag
    Vrijdag
    Zaterdag
    Frisian name:
    Snein
    Moandei
    Tiisdei
    Woansdei
    Tongersdei
    Freed
    Sneon
    Icelandic name:
    Sunnudagur
    Mánuðagur
    Þriðjudagur
    Miðvikudagur
    Fimmtudagur
    Föstudagur
    Laugardagur
    Danish name:
    Søndag
    Mandag
    Tirsdag
    Onsdag
    Torsdag
    Fredag
    Lørdag
    Norwegian name:
    Søndag
    Mandag
    Tirsdag
    Onsdag
    Torsdag
    Fredag
    Lørdag
    Swedish name:
    Söndag
    Måndag
    Tisdag
    Onsdag
    Torsdag
    Fredag
    Lördag

    Months:
    Just like the modern Jewish and Muslim calendars the beginning and ending of a Germanic month was calculated by using the moon, it takes the moon one month to encircle the earth and the word "month" is even derived from the word "moon" (menoþ - menon).
    Because the beginning and ending of the months were dependant on the cycle of the moon it is difficult to give a fixed date, however, it is save to assume that a Germanic month mostly began at the same time as our modern month, though often a few days later, or on the first crescent of the moon.

    The names of the months varied in each area, some scholars believe that the month names were invented locally and that there was no common (Proto-Germanic) origin of them, I do not completely agree with this theory because most of the month names have too many similarities to speak of a local origin.
    Months were often named after their characteristics; for instance July was named "Haymonth" in most areas because in that month it was time for the farmers to collect hay from their fields.
    Most Germanic countries nowadays use the Roman calendar but many of them also have alternative month names that are related to the old Germanic names, especially in the rural areas this old names are still popular.
    I shall now list some of the old Germanic month names that were used:

    Franconian names:
    The Franconian names were introduced by Charlemagne during the Middle Ages, Franconian was a western Germanic dialect from which Dutch and some German dialects originate, the French language also has many words that are derived from Franconian, the Franconian month names were based on older Germanic names.

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Franconian name:
    Wintarmânoth
    Hornunc
    Lenzimânoth
    Ôstarmânoth
    Wunnimânoth
    Brâchmânoth
    Hewimânoth
    Aranmânoth
    Witumânoth
    Windumemânoth
    Herbismânoth
    Heilimânoth
    Meaning:
    Winter month
    Horning
    Spring month
    Easter month
    Pasturing month
    Fallowing month
    Hay month
    Harvest month
    Wood month
    Wine month
    Autumn month
    Holy month

    Western Germanic names:
    This month names are in a western Germanic dialect and they were used in the Netherlands and Germany, I am not entirely certain about the exact language they are in but I think it is a form of Low German.

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Western Germanic name:
    Wolfsmanoth
    Horunnemanoth
    Thormanoth
    Ostara
    Wunnemanoth
    Brachmanoth
    Vainmanoth
    Aranmanoth
    Haervistmanoth
    Windumemanoth
    Blótmanoth
    Heiligmanoth
    Meaning:
    Wolfs month
    Horning month
    Thorra/Thunar(?) month
    Ostara
    Pasturing month
    Fallowing month
    Peat month
    Ares month
    Harvest month
    Wine month
    Blood month
    Holy month

  • Wolfs month: during this cold month hungry wolves came out of the forest to prey upon the farmer's livestock.
  • Horning month: during this month the animals in the forest lose their horns to grow new ones.
  • Thormanoth: the meaning of this name is not entirely clear, I don't think it is related to the god Thor because that name was not used in the Western Germanic language; it may have been a local dialect though, it can also be derived from "Thorri", which was a holiday that was held by some tribes during that period for the incarnation of Winter.
  • Ostara: Ostara was a fertility goddess who was honoured during this month.
  • Pasturing month: "wunnen" means "pasturing" in English ("weiden" in Dutch and German), during this month the livestock was released from the stables into the fields.
  • Fallowing month: "brach" means "fallow" in German, in this time the farmer let the field lay fallow to prevent it from exhausting.
  • Peat month: "vain" means "bog" or "peat" in English, ("veen" in Dutch) it was the time when farmers collected peat to use for the fire since it was dryer during this warm month and thus easier to collect.
  • Ares month: "aran" means "ares" in English, during this month the farmer harvested ares of corn.
  • Harvest month: during this month the farmer harvested his crops and wheat.
  • Wine month: During this month wine was made.
  • Blood month: "blót" literally means "blood" but the word was also used for "slaughter" and "sacrifice"; during this month animals were slaughtered.
  • Holy month: During this month the Jól celebration was held, which was one of the most important Germanic holidays.

    Anglo-Saxon names:
    This names were used by the Anglo-Saxons in Anglia (England):

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Anglo-Saxon name:
    (Æfterra) Geola
    Solmonath
    Hrethmonath
    Eostremonath
    Thrimilci
    (Ærra) Litha
    (Æfterra) Litha
    Weodmonath
    Haligmonath
    Winterfylleth
    Blotmonath
    (Ærra) Geola
    Meaning:
    After Geola
    Mud month
    Month of Hretha
    Month of Eostre
    Three milkings
    Before Litha
    After Litha
    Weed month
    Holy month
    Winter Full-moon
    Blood month
    Before Geola

  • After Geola: "Geola" is the Anglo-Saxon name for the Jól celebration (also named "Yule"), the Anglo-Saxons had two months for Geola and Litha, one before and one after.
  • Mud month: February is a rainy month with lots of mud.
  • Month of Hretha: Hretha was an Anglo-Saxon war goddess of whom not much is known.
  • Month of Eostre: Eostre was the Anglo-Saxon name for the fertility goddess Ostara.
  • Three milkings: cows could be milked 3 times during this month, hence the name.
  • Before Litha: Litha is the Anglo-Saxon name for the Summer Solstice.
  • After Litha: just like Geola Litha lasted for two months.
  • Month of Weeds: during this month the weed ("weod") began to grow more rapidly which gave the farmers lots of work removing it from their fields.
  • Holy month: during this month an important holiday was probably held.
  • Winter full-moon: the winter season started at the first full moon of this month in the Anglo-Saxon calendar.
  • Blood month: during this month animals were slaughtered.
  • Before Geola: this was the last month of the year and the beginning of the Jól celebrations.

    English names:
    In England the Roman calendar is used, the older alternative names are:

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    English name:
    Snowmoon
    Horning
    Lenting
    Ostara
    Merrymoon
    Fallow
    Haymoon
    Harvest
    Shedding
    Hunting
    Fogmoon
    Wolfmoon

  • Note the use of "moon" instead of "month".

    Old Norse names:
    This names were used in Scandinavia:

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Old Norse name:
    Thorri
    Goi
    Einmanudhr
    Gaukmanudhr/Saidtidh
    Eggtidh
    Solmanudhr
    Heyannir
    Tvimanudhr
    Hanstmanudhr
    Gormanudhr
    Frermanudhr
    Hrutmanudhr
    Meaning:
    Thorri (incarnation of Winter)
    Gói (Gói was the wife or daughter of Thorri)
    Single Month
    Sowing month (beginning of Summer)
    Eggtide
    Sun month (Midsummer)
    Haymaking
    Double Month
    Harvest Month
    Blood month (Winter Finding)
    Frost Month
    Ram month (Jól)

    Danish names:
    Denmark uses the Roman calendar, the alternative names are:

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Danish name:
    Glugmåned
    Blidemåned
    Tormåned
    Faremåned
    Majmåned
    Hømåned
    Ormemåned
    Høstmåned
    Fiskemåned
    Sædemåned
    Slagtemåned
    Julemåned
    Meaning:
    Opening(?) month
    Gentle month
    Thorri month
    Faring/Travelling month
    May month
    Hay month
    Worms month
    Autumn month
    Fishing month
    Seed month
    Slaughtering month
    Jól month

  • Glugmåned: the word "glug" means something like "opening", thus; "opening month" as in "opening/start of the year".
  • Blidemåned: during this time the temperature is getting milder, hence the name "gentle".
  • Tormåned: this name probably refers to Thorri, the incarnation of Winter.
  • Faremåned: this was the safest month for ships to sail out.
  • Ormemåned: in this time the worms are the most numerous, worms are important to fishermen and since Denmark is a real fishing country it is no surprise that they use this name.
  • Fiskemåned: this time is great for fishing because in this month the fish swim closer to the surface, at least that's what I've heard, I don't know anything about fishing though.
  • Sædemåned: during this month the seed for the winter was sewn.

    Dutch names:
    In the Netherlands the Roman calendar is used but there are also alternative names that are based on older Germanic names:

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Dutch name:
    Louwmaand
    Sprokkelmaand
    Lentemaand
    Grasmaand
    Bloeimaand
    Zomermaand
    Hooimaand
    Oogstmaand
    Herfstmaand
    Wijnmaand
    Slachtmaand
    Wintermaand
    Meaning:
    Tanning month
    Gathering month
    Spring month
    Grass month
    Blossoming month
    Summer month
    Hay month
    Harvest month
    Autumn month
    Wine month
    Slaughtering month
    Wintermonth

    German names:
    Germany also uses the Roman calendar, but they too use alternative names:

    Roman name:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    Old German name:
    Hartung
    Hornung
    Lenzing
    Ostermond
    Wonnemond
    Brachet
    Heuert
    Ernting
    Scheiding
    Gilbhart
    Nebelung
    Julmond
    Meaning:
    Harding
    Horning
    Spring
    Ostara month
    Pasturing month
    Fallowing
    Haying
    Harvest
    Separation
    Yellowing
    Fogging
    Jól month
    Modern German name:
    Eismonat
    Hornung
    Lenzmonat
    Ostermonat
    Wonnemonat
    Brachmonat
    Heumonat
    Erntemonat
    Herbstmonat
    Weinmonat
    Windmonat
    Christmonat
    Meaning:
    Ice month
    Horning
    Spring month
    Ostara month
    Pasturing month
    Fallowing month
    Hay month
    Harvest month
    Autumn month
    Wine month
    Wind month
    Christ month

  • Hartung: during this month the ground became hard because of the frost.
  • Scheiding: this month formed the separation between summer and winter.
  • Gilbhart: during this month the forest leaves become yellow.
  • Christmonat: this month was renamed under Christian influence.

    Reconstruction of the original month names:
    I shall now make a reconstruction of the original Proto-Germanic month names that may have been used before the local variations occured, it is of course not certain whether this names were really used but considering the similarities in most old month names it is likely that most of this names were used in some form or another.
    The following names are based on a comparison of other calendars, I will also translate them into various other languages so that everybody can understand the meanings of the names too.

    Roman month:
    January
    February
    March
    April
    May
    June
    July
    August
    September
    October
    November
    December
    English name:
    Wintermonth
    Horningmonth
    Springmonth
    Ostaramonth
    Pasturingmonth
    Fallowingmonth
    Haymonth
    Harvestmonth
    Autumnmonth
    Winemonth
    Bloodmonth
    Holymonth
    German name:
    Wintermonat
    Hornungmonat
    Lenzmonat
    Ostaramonat
    Weidemonat
    Brachmonat
    Heumonat
    Erntemonat
    Herbstmonat
    Weinmonat
    Blutmonat
    Heiligenmonat
    Dutch name:
    Wintermaand
    Hoorningmaand
    Lentemaand
    Ostaramaand
    Weidemaand
    Braakmaand
    Hooimaand
    Oogstmaand
    Herfstmaand
    Wijnmaand
    Bloedmaand
    Heiligemaand
    Frisian name:
    Wintermoanne
    Hoarningmoanne
    Maaitiidmoanne
    Ostaramoanne
    Greidemoanne
    Braakmoanne
    Heamoanne
    Rispingemoanne
    Hjerstmoanne
    Wynmoanne
    Bloedmoanne
    Hilligemoanne
    Swedish name:
    Vintermånad
    Horningmånad
    Vårmånad
    Ostaramånad
    Betesmånad
    Trädemånad
    Hömånad
    Skördemånad
    Höstmånad
    Vinmånad
    Blodmånad
    Heligmånad
    Danish name:
    Vintermåned
    Horningmåned
    Forårsmåned
    Ostaramåned
    Betesmåned
    Brakmåned
    Hømåned
    Høstmåned
    Efterårsmåned
    Vinmåned
    Blodmåned
    Helligmåned
    Norwegian name:
    Vintermåned
    Horningmåned
    Vårmåned
    Ostaramåned
    Engmåned
    Brakkmåned
    Høymåned
    Kornmåned
    Høstmåned
    Vinmåned
    Blodmåned
    Helligmåned
    Icelandic name:
    Veturmánuður
    Horningmánuður
    Vármánuður
    Ostaramánuður
    Beitmánuður
    Hvíldarmánuður
    Heymánuður
    Uppskeramánuður
    Haustmánuður
    Vinmánuður
    Blóðmánuður
    Heilagmánuður
    Proto-Germanic name:
    Wentrumenoþ
    Hurningamenoþ
    Lenþamenoþ
    Austromenoþ
    Waiþimenoþ
    Brekimenoþ
    Hawjamenoþ
    Aznomenoþ
    Harbistamenoþ
    Winamenoþ
    Bloþamenoþ
    Hailagamenoþ

    Seasons:
    The Germanic calendar originally had two seasons that were either called Summer and Winter or Spring and Autumn, the four seasons system was later added under Roman influence.
    The Germans saw the year as a fight between good and evil; in the first part of the year the world was overtaken by cold, darkness and decay, after the summer solstice the sun gained victory over the cold which caused the second part of the year to be one of warmth, growth, and prosperity.
    Most fertility festivals were held during the beginning of Summer to celebrate the victory of life over death and fertility over decline, this was a cycle that kept repeating itself every year and this is also one of the reasons why the sun was so important to ancient peoples, in almost every ancient religion the sun was worshipped as lifebringer; the Aztecs even sacrificed humans to it to ensure its rise the next day.
    The ancients were not far from the truth; without the sun there would have been no Earth, no light, no warmt, no growth, no life, and no human existence.

    On the Germanic calendar Winter and Summer were both 26 weeks long, so a year was 52 weeks, just like it is today on our modern calendar.

    Years:
    The year was seen as a ring with two halfs; Winter and Summer, after completing the whole cycle of Winter and Summer the ring was complete and a new ring (year) began, the new year started directly after the Jól celebration.
    Although the concept "year" was known to the Germans they often counted in either seasons or Winters (depending on local custom), so if the Germans spoke about an event that took place 3 years ago they would have either said;"This happened 3 Winters ago" or "This happened 6 seasons ago" (they only knew 2 seasons), when a longer period had to be named they referred to an event that took place around the same time, for instance the year 580AD would have been defined by saying; "This happened 3 Winters after the battle of Deorham (which took place in 577AD)".
    Leap years were unknown in ancient times, for the Germans this didn't cause any problems since the Germanic calendar was based on the cycle of the moon and other astronomical events, but when fixed dates were introduced in later periods this started to become a problem; during the Middle Ages most countries transitioned to the Roman-made Julian calendar that did not knew leap-years either, in western Europe this problem was eventually solved by introducing the Gregorian calendar that uses leap years.
    In Iceland this this problem was adressed much sooner; Thorstein Surt introduced a plan in which an extra week was added every 7th year.
    The Proto-Germanic name for "year" was "jera", from which modern names like "year", "jahr", "jaar", "ár" and "år" originate.