Germanic Pagan Holidays. Jun 27, 2019 · Seven Sleepers’ Day (Siebenschlä
Jun 27, 2019 · Seven Sleepers’ Day (Siebenschläfertag) on June 27 is a feast day commemorating the legend of the Seven Sleepers as well as one of the best-known bits of traditional weather lore (expressed as a proverb) remaining in German-speaking Europe. Aug 2, 2023 · Even the many different words we use to describe the Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ reflects how this festival was born of a wide array of cultures. As the Germanic languages descend from Proto-Indo-European (PIE), historical linguists have traced the name to a Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn * H₂ewsṓs, from which may descend the Germanic goddess at the origin of the Old English Ēostre and the Old High German * Ôstara. . One of the most well-known is Yule, a midwinter festival that lasts for twelve days, mirroring the modern Christmas but with deeper roots in Odin’s wild hunt and the rebirth of the sun. Many pagan Christmas traditions evolved from ancient winter solstice festivals, adapted by early Christians as they spread their faith through Europe. Jan 15, 2022 · This practice is seen in our American/English world and language today. This did not happen, but the status of the traditional Celtic deities diminished substantially. The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year, and figures such as Krampus originated in early Alpine community traditions to dispel evil spirits believed to gather during this season. [12] Due to early Wicca's influence on modern paganism and the syncretic adoption of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic motifs, Wheel of the Year festival names in English commonly combine the Celtic names used by Gardner and the Germanic -derived names introduced by Kelly, regardless whether local celebrations are based on those cultures. The early Germanic calendars were the regional calendars used among the early Germanic peoples before they adopted the Julian calendar in the Early Middle Ages. We take a look at the history of Walpurgisnacht (Hexennacht), Germany's Night of the Witches festival, asking who was Saint Walpurga and why all the noise? Dec 16, 2025 · Krampus is thought to have been part of pagan rituals for the winter solstice in the German-speaking Alpine regions of Europe, particularly Austria. Overall, Yule is a pagan festival that has its origins in ancient Norse and Germanic traditions. Jan 4, 2025 · In contrast to the Norse/Germanic Pagan calendar, the Wicca Calendar is a modern construct inspired by ancient Celtic and Norse traditions. Dec 23, 2020 · When trying to convert people from a pagan religion to Christianity, they noticed some pushback when it came to certain traditions and pagan holidays, so they tried to compromise and give them the best of both worlds. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germany, the Netherlands, and at times other parts of Europe, the beliefs and practices of Germanic paganism varied. Dec 1, 2025 · The Krampus legend isn't your typical Christmas tale. The legends of the Dietsch immigrants and their distinctive dialect formed the inspiration for the modern religion and the holiday calendar. Neo-Pagans have attempted to re-create and reimagine the ancient Yule as a part of The ancient Norse year was divided into two seasons: Summer and Winter. First, some brief background: Dr. This half-goat, half-demon figure from Alpine folklore puts a chilling spin on the holiday season. During the Middle Ages, the term was also adapted to refer to religions practiced outside the former Roman Empire, such as Germanic paganism, Egyptian paganism and Baltic paganism. 5 days ago · holiday, (from “holy day”), originally, a day of dedication to religious observance; in modern times, a day of either religious or secular commemoration. Dec 10, 2025 · When people celebrate Christmas today, they’re often following customs that long predate Christianity. Urglaawe (The “Ancient Belief”) is a distinctive modern synthesis of Pennsylvania Dietsch folk tradition and culture with Heathenry or Germanic Paganism. The calendars were an element of early Germanic culture. Adopted today by many modern Pagans, Wiccans, Druids, and other earth-based… Jan 4, 2025 · In contrast to the Norse/Germanic Pagan calendar, the Wicca Calendar is a modern construct inspired by ancient Celtic and Norse traditions. Its origin is from Germanic paganism and has existed in many variants during Scandinavian history. Apr 18, 2020 · Have you ever asked yourself what the Viking wheel of the year looked like? Click to discover the Norse calendar and its holidays. Norse Paganism is a rich, vibrant spiritual tradition rooted in ancient Scandinavian and Germanic cultures. Typically, the Celtic peoples did not celebrate Ostara as a holiday, although they were in tune with the changing of the seasons. " Explore a comprehensive guide to modern pagan practices, featuring festivals and traditions from around the world for every season. Discover their influence o Apr 18, 2020 · Have you ever asked yourself what the Viking wheel of the year looked like? Click to discover the Norse calendar and its holidays. This faith, which includes its own mythology, The Wheel of the Year holidays originate mostly from Celtic and Germanic pagan rituals many moons ago. This calendar highlights feast days, celebrations, spirit animals, and full moons. Other Heathens construct their own calendars following a lunar or lunisolar cycle. The forms of celebration in Sweden vary in different parts of the country and between different cities. Known as *blót*, these rituals included various forms of sacrifice, such as offering money and weapons in sacred sites. Winter began at the festival of Winternights, which is close to the Autumn Equinox. These runs may include Perchten, similarly wild pagan spirits of Germanic folklore and sometimes female in representation, although the Perchten are properly associated with the period between winter solstice and 6 January. Norse Holidays and Festivals Wicca draws upon ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for theological and ritual purposes. It’s one of many Christian holidays, like Easter, that has traditional ties to paganism. The Pagan Wheel of the Year is a dynamic spiritual calendar rooted in nature, seasonal change, and ancient celebrations. Modern representations of the Yule goat are typically made of straw. The Druid festival of Samhain was meant to be replaced forever with Hallowmas, or All Saints’ Day, on November 1. However, many of the original pagan elements of the festival still survive in modern celebrations. Feb 28, 2022 · A look at some of the popular pagan holidays like the sabbats, plus some lesser known pagan festivals from Rome, Egypt, Greece and more. For the Vikings, Germanic tribes, and other pagan peoples of pre-Christian Europe, this celebration, known as Yule, was originally meant to honor the winter solstice. In addition to this, adherents of some new religious movements, such as Modern Germanic paganism, celebrate Yule as an independent festival to Christmas. Pagan Holidays: Walpurgis Night and how a British lady went from Catholic saint, to Germanic goddess, to witch and gave us a second Halloween “Walpurgis Night was when, according to the belief of millions of people, the devil was abroad—when the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. Dec 24, 2025 · The Wheel of the Year represents the 8 Wiccan holidays (sabbats): Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon, and Samhain. The atmospheric conditions on that day are supposed to determine or predict the average summer weather of the next seven weeks. To make up for this, many Heathens choose to celebrate their holidays on the equinoxes and solstices. Jun 20, 2025 · Discover the full cycle of Norse pagan festivals—rituals of gods, ancestors, sun, and fate. Learn all about 7 Pagan festivals we still celebrate today with Through Eternity Travel's resident historian. Public holidays & travel: Easter weekend is a prime time for Germans to visit family or take countryside trips. Between these two festivals was the festival of Midsummer (known as Lithasblot) at the Summer Solstice, and the festival of Jul (or Yule Calendar dates The exact calendar dates the ancient Germanic peoples might have used for their holidays are lost to us. Nov 12, 2019 · The farther north a people lived, the greater the difference between a long, cold, hostile winter and a warm, life-giving summer, the more intensely the Germanic peoples of Europe celebrated winter solstice. This practice is seen in our American/English world and language today. It is typically observed much like May Day celebrations - with lots of dancing, singing, music and ritual around the bonfire. Notice names for Germanic Heathen holidays that we find in the Sagas and historical sources: "Winter Nights" (Old Norse vinternätterna), "mid-winter nights" (Old Norse midvinternatten) and "three nights of Yule Dec 7, 2025 · Norse Pagan Holidays in Heathenry and Ásatrú The pre-Christian Germanic peoples marked the year with seasonal festivals, ritual offerings, and sacred gatherings. Neo-Pagans have attempted to re-create and reimagine the ancient Yule as a part of Public holidays & travel: Easter weekend is a prime time for Germans to visit family or take countryside trips. Where Yule Comes From Yule belongs primarily to the Germanic and Norse peoples who lived across Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, and parts of the British Isles before and during the Viking Age (roughly 750-1050 CE). [19] Nov 12, 2019 · The farther north a people lived, the greater the difference between a long, cold, hostile winter and a warm, life-giving summer, the more intensely the Germanic peoples of Europe celebrated winter solstice. 'Old Christmas', riding a yule goat; 1836 illustration by Robert Seymour The Yule goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition. Some of the pagan holidays were celebrated by Celtic pagans, others by Germanic. In many languages of northern Europe, Yule is now the word for Christmas, but certain parts of the Yule tradition in modern Christmas may have originated in the pre-Christian solstice festival. Aug 19, 2023 · Here is a list of Holidays we celebrate in Asatru, Heathenry and Norse Paganism, how to figure out when they are and when they will be next year. Many holidays of the major world religions tend to occur at the approximate dates of more ancient, pagan festivals. Jan 4, 2020 · For early Pagans in the Germanic countries, this was a time to celebrate planting and the new crop season. Summer began at the festival of Ostara (also know as Eostre), which is close to the Spring Equinox. From Jól to Winternights, walk the ancient spiral of the year. The most widely observed are based on a Aug 2, 2023 · Even the many different words we use to describe the Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ reflects how this festival was born of a wide array of cultures. Dec 7, 2025 · Explore a historically-inspired Norse and Germanic version of the 12 Days of Yule that includes Mother’s Night, the Wild Hunt, oath-making, and ancestral feasts. The historical Norse & Germanic Pagan understanding of the year is reconstructed from various sources and primarily lunar-based, with festivals like Yule, Vetrnætr, and Sigrblót tied to natural cycles and seasonal sacrifices. Really, it comes down to what sort of practice you are building; one more eclectic/syncretic, that brings in elements of other pagan paths, or one that is reconstructionist, and tries to figure out what the pre-Christian year of the Germanic tribes looked liked. Aug 18, 2024 · Explore the fascinating history of Christmas in Germany, from ancient pagan roots to modern celebrations embracing diversity and sustainability. Doreen Valiente joined Gardner in the 1950s, further building Wicca's liturgical tradition of beliefs, principles, and practices, disseminated through published books as well as secret written and oral teachings passed along to initiates. At the bottom of this article, I will give the 2024 dates for these historical Heathen holidays for modern practice for Old Ways Heathens. Andreas E. Holidays observed within the modern pagan movement of Heathenry Members of the Ásatrúarfélagið preparing for a Þingblót at Þingvellir, Iceland In the modern pagan movement of Heathenry there are a number of holidays celebrated by different groups and individuals. Dec 6, 2024 · December 25th is widely recognized as the birth of Jesus, but the Winter Solstice is among the pagan holidays that have long been cause for celebration in various religions and mythologies, from the Roman worship of Mithras to British druidic ceremonies. Notice how holidays begin at night: Christmas Eve for example. Important regions and peoples: Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, where Norse paganism was strongest Iceland: Where many Norse traditions were preserved in sagas written Mar 6, 2018 · Read all about the fascinating pagan festival of Walpurgisnacht that takes place in the Harz Mountains in Germany. We are inclusive and open to various pagan and magical groups including Celtic, Eclectic, Egyptian, Greek, Indigenous, Norse, Slavic, & Wiccan. Early Germanic calendars Bede 's description of English months in The Reckoning of Time from Cotton MS Vespasian B VI. Zautner:“If we browse the internet for holidays of the Germanic people, we mainly find pages presenting an octopartite year circle, the so-called ‘eight-spoked wheel of the year’ based on the solstices, the During the Middle Ages, the term was also adapted to refer to religions practiced outside the former Roman Empire, such as Germanic paganism, Egyptian paganism and Baltic paganism. Dec 25, 2025 · Yule is a winter solstice festival historically observed among Germanic peoples that became supplanted by Christmas. Mar 17, 2017 · Although it is named for a martyred saint, many Germanic Pagans try to honor the celebrations of their ancestors by observing this traditional holiday each year. Nov 5, 2023 · The traditions of Yule, such as the Yule log and the Yule tree, were adapted to the Christian holiday. Notice names for Germanic Heathen holidays that we find in the Sagas and historical sources: "Winter Nights" (Old Norse vinternätterna), "mid-winter nights" (Old Norse midvinternatten) and "three nights of Yule. In the modern pagan movement of Heathenry there are a number of holidays celebrated by different groups and individuals. The most widely observed are based on ancient Germanic practices described in historical accounts or folk practices; however Jan 15, 2022 · The day began at sundown, and ended at sundown. and it is believed that 2026 Pagan Celebration & Holiday Calendar CPH creates resources for polytheists across numerous pagan paths. The history of Easter in Germany is a fascinating mix of pagan fertility rituals, Christian beliefs, and folk traditions. Apr 28, 2017 · Walpurgis (sw: Valborg) is one of the main holidays during the year in both Sweden and Finland, alongside Christmas and Midsummer. The Christian Church tried to wipe out “pagan” holidays, such as Samhain, through its missionaries. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries and is observed by a majority of Christians; it is also celebrated culturally by many non-Christians and forms an integral part of the annual holiday season. Apr 7, 2024 · What is Walpurgisnacht? Often known as the Night of Witches or Hexennacht, it is celebrated on the eve of May Day, April 30th and it’s a time when the folklore of ancient pagan customs and the veneration of Saint Walpurga from Christian tradition intermingle under the spring sky. Germanic paganism or Germanic religion was the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. The Yule holiday is the holiest and most popular of all the native Germanic spiritual celebrations, as Yule marks the return of the God Baldur from the realm of Hel and the loosening of winters grip on the frozen Earth. Jan 8, 2026 · The 'Guide To Norse Pagan Holidays' dives into the rich tapestry of celebrations that honor the old gods and the cycles of nature. Germanic paganism, Odin, and Christianisation An 1886 depiction of the long-bearded Norse god Odin by Georg von Rosen Prior to their Christianisation, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule (Old English geola or giuli). [1] Explore the annual Norse festivals celebrated by ancient Germanic and Scandinavian cultures, often aligning with solstices and equinoxes to honor agriculture and fertility.