Asatru Folk Assembly - Asatru Holidays - April 2025 - Jarl Hákon ｜ Stubba ｜ Nornanótt

00:00:00.000 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and folk of all ages, you know what time it is.

00:00:27.460 It is April, and we're already a week in.

00:00:31.940 So let's get down to it and talk about the holidays, holy days, and days of remembrance of our people.

00:00:38.420 And to start off this episode, we actually have a very special learning lesson time.

00:00:44.940 You may have seen bits and pieces of it here or there over the last, maybe, month.

00:00:51.920 but really starting now in April

00:00:55.020 you will see a bit of a change

00:00:57.980 to a lot of the names of our holidays

00:00:59.680 the Witten, Gothar, and the Ausher of the Argothi

00:01:03.980 have gotten together and actually figured out

00:01:07.020 well, they kind of just realized

00:01:10.680 that it didn't make a whole lot of sense

00:01:13.000 the names of some of our holidays that we called them

00:01:16.580 in the modern times

00:01:17.820 when you have holidays that are named in English

00:01:21.380 and other ones named in German

00:01:23.460 and others named in Swedish and Icelandic

00:01:27.940 and Old Norse.

00:01:31.440 We needed to come together and actually unify that.

00:01:35.820 Make it a singular, cohesive unit.

00:01:40.000 And one of those holidays that I mentioned that was in German

00:01:43.220 this month was Hexenacht.

00:01:46.340 Now, for these holidays, 0.97

00:01:47.640 we celebrate them more or less the exact same all but one of them is the exact same

00:01:57.540 let's go through them really quick go through all 12 and then we'll go into the specifics of

00:02:05.020 our month of april so in january we're keeping it as thorblot same as always

00:02:14.280 in february it is going to be a bit different it is disa thing disa thing that is a old norse

00:02:24.580 version of what you may have heard a word before disting and it also is still incorporating

00:02:30.760 aspects of charming of the plow we're still blessing the plow honoring slayer all of that

00:02:36.740 sort, but there's the added addition of honoring the dísir. And really, there's never a bad 0.99

00:02:45.800 time to honor our mothers and our ancestral mothers, and we still bless the plow and all

00:02:53.000 of that. Last month, in March, we celebrated Æstra. Now, this is just the Old Norse name

00:03:01.800 for Ostara, Easter,

00:03:04.380 Eostre.

00:03:06.100 Same thing. 0.97

00:03:07.580 This month is Nornanots, 0.86

00:03:10.640 which again is

00:03:11.640 simply the

00:03:13.660 Old Norse words for Hexanot

00:03:16.120 or Witches' Nights.

00:03:18.240 Same holiday.

00:03:20.320 Next month is Sumermal.

00:03:23.260 Sumermal.

00:03:25.000 Mayday is

00:03:25.900 a more modern contemporary

00:03:27.380 celebration.

00:03:29.720 An older version of that name

00:03:31.780 Sumirmal. It was actually

00:03:34.240 listed in some of

00:03:36.360 our old lore in the Eddas

00:03:38.640 as a holiday

00:03:40.240 Sumirmal.

00:03:42.440 Same celebration.

00:03:44.480 Same thing for June is

00:03:46.240 Midsummer. It's just

00:03:48.300 translating it into

00:03:50.200 the Old Norse. We're keeping 0.85

00:03:52.420 Sigurblot the same as well as

00:03:54.460 Freyfaxi.

00:03:56.620 In September

00:03:58.140 is Haustblot, which

00:04:00.420 is Harvestblot. Always Winter Finding was a Harvest Festival anyway. It's still a Harvest

00:04:08.880 Festival. We're still going to be honoring Ur and the start of the hunting season. We'll 0.97

00:04:15.120 just call it Haustblot. And for the final three months of the year, it's basically just

00:04:20.800 an Old Norse translation of the names we were using more or less. Vetterneter for Winter

00:04:27.320 nights. Ein Herrjahrblatt

00:04:30.180 for Feast of the Einherjahr and Jull

00:04:32.800 for Jull. It's really not that

00:04:36.220 complicated. The biggest changes

00:04:39.100 to name-wise is diese thing,

00:04:41.500 Nornablot, or Nornanot,

00:04:44.600 and Hausblot, maybe?

00:04:47.780 We'll be going over them every month, as always.

00:04:50.500 You can read them on the Runestone page

00:04:53.900 on the Holy Days. They're also listed

00:04:56.600 every month in the RuneStone newsletter

00:04:58.840 that you get emailed to you.

00:05:01.560 Alrighty.

00:05:02.620 So let's go over the specifics for April,

00:05:04.840 shall we? We've already wasted a few minutes

00:05:06.700 of your precious time.

00:05:08.740 In April, we have two days of

00:05:10.560 remembrance and our holiday.

00:05:13.340 Our first day of

00:05:14.700 remembrance is on April

00:05:16.620 9th, coming up in just

00:05:18.640 a couple days for Jarl Halken

00:05:20.760 Sigurdarsson.

00:05:22.680 And we follow that up on the very next

00:05:24.660 day on the 10th for our day of remembrance for John Yorl Stubba and then our holiday as I said

00:05:32.820 earlier is Nornanots and as always that will be the technically the last day of April on the 30th

00:05:42.380 it would be followed by Sumer Mall on May 1st but because we know that not everybody can get

00:05:50.300 together for two days in a row and a lot of times if those fall in the week or anything like that

00:05:57.100 we celebrate and observe the holiday on the third weekend of the month but if you're able to get

00:06:03.700 together on the 30th and the 31st with your folk that's awesome so the third weekend of the month

00:06:11.340 would be the april 19th which is the day that we're going to observe the northern notes at the

00:06:17.680 coughs, etc.

00:06:20.940 Alrighty, let's get down to the nitty-gritty and learn a bit about these holidays and holy days.

00:06:28.040 Born in 937 and passed away 995,

00:06:34.660 Halken Sigurdarsson, also known as Halken Jarl and Jarl Halken,

00:06:41.240 gained his title of Jarl in 961,

00:06:44.860 after his father was killed by Harald Glaycloak.

00:06:49.340 He was the Jarl of Laid, Thrandelag, Halogaland in Norway.

00:06:56.940 Adam of Brimen claimed that Jarl Halken was descended from Ivar the Boneless

00:07:01.800 and Halken himself claimed to be descended from the Allfather

00:07:05.440 as he was a devout Alcetruar.

00:07:08.860 After the death of his father and his elevation to the title of Jarl

00:07:13.080 he warred with Harald Greycloak for a time, until being forced to flee to Denmark.

00:07:19.860 Once in Denmark, he and Harald Bluetooth managed to defeat and kill Harald Greycloak.

00:07:25.580 After Greycloak's defeat, Bluetooth gave Jarl Halken fiefs in Denmark.

00:07:31.880 After defeating Greycloak's surviving brothers, Jarl Halken ruled Norway as one of Bluetooth's vassals.

00:07:37.980 In 973, Halken went south to Denmark to help Bluetooth fight off Otto II of the Holy Roman Empire.

00:07:46.880 Despite this help, Otto managed to fight off their combined forces and Germany retained

00:07:53.980 its influence over Denmark.

00:07:56.980 Following this in 975, Bluetooth convinced Jarl Halken to accept Christ to be baptized

00:08:02.980 and to take clergymen with him back to Norway in order to convert his folk.

00:08:08.660 However, when a perfect wind came along for him to return to Norway,

00:08:12.840 he ordered the Christian clergy to stay ashore. 0.86

00:08:16.520 He returned to Norway, his loyalty to the Aesir intact.

00:08:21.340 On the face of it, the story may look like a betrayal by Jarl Halken,

00:08:25.920 but consider the words of the Halvamal.

00:08:27.920 To a friend, be a friend, but with an enemy, swap lies for lies. 0.58

00:08:34.560 Once Bluetooth forced baptism upon Halkin, he had no choice to break his allegiance and leave Bluetooth's Christian clergy behind.

00:08:43.800 Twenty years later, in 995, a disagreement erupted between Jarl Halkin and his folk in Trondolog.

00:08:51.900 At the same time, the infamous snake known as Olaf Tryggvason arrived in the area.

00:08:57.840 likely to convert the area to his foreign faith.

00:09:01.640 Jarl Halkin's support from his folk ran out,

00:09:04.840 and he was murdered by his friend and servant, Tormund Kark.

00:09:09.560 Kark betrayed his lord in the hopes that Olaf would reward him,

00:09:13.600 but he was decapitated for the crime of betraying his master.

00:09:18.480 Jarl Halkin was a man who helped his allies when called,

00:09:22.640 navigated the politics of northern Europe with skill,

00:09:25.340 and kept his troth with the Aesir, even when his lord forced him to be bathed in the name of Christ.

00:09:33.000 If not for the treachery of Tormund Kark, he may have stood a chance against Olaf the traitor. 0.53

00:09:39.300 On the ninth day of April, we honor both his strength as a ruler

00:09:43.400 and his devotion to build his folk and our gods.

00:09:47.860 Even though it only lasted an extra twenty years,

00:09:50.540 He managed to keep the torch of Trondalag's troch with the Aesir alight. 0.62

00:09:57.660 May we all be steadfast in our devotion and dauntless in our piety.

00:10:03.060 Hail Jarl Halkin Sigurddarsson.

00:10:06.400 Hail the Alcetru Folk Assembly.

00:10:11.640 And on the 10th, the very next day, we honor John Yul Stubba.

00:10:17.520 John Leslie William Yole, better known as Stubba, was born in England on April 10th of 1918.

00:10:27.440 We know precious little about his family or early life.

00:10:31.400 Most of our knowledge of him comes from his military service and role in the Royal Stuart Society.

00:10:37.600 In the military, he served in the Spanish Civil War, the Indochina War, and in Burma in the 40s and early 50s.

00:10:45.640 He retired from military service in 1954.

00:10:49.640 As far as his role in the Royal Stewards Society, he was elevated to the position of Vice-President

00:10:56.640 and was said to be 7th in line for the throne of Great Britain if the Steward Line were

00:11:02.040 ever restored to power.

00:11:04.040 He was so treasured by this society that upon his death, it performed his funeral service.

00:11:12.040 After his time in the military, he discovered Alcetru and met John Gibbs Bailey, also known

00:11:17.860 as Halskold.

00:11:19.800 Halskold was experienced with various early Alcetru groups over the previous 30 years,

00:11:26.120 and introduced Yol to the religious teachings of that time.

00:11:30.360 Throughout the 1960s, the two men stayed in consistent contact and cultivated knowledge

00:11:35.760 on the faith of their ancestors.

00:11:38.400 In 1973, they formed the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite, the predecessor

00:11:43.960 to the modern Odinic Rite.

00:11:47.480 During these early years of the committee, John Yole adopted the name Stubba, which he

00:11:51.680 took from a Saxon chief who had ruled in the area now known as Whitechapel.

00:11:57.320 As the Committee of the Odinic Rite started to find its footing, Stubba played an integral

00:12:01.720 role in creating Alcetru doctrine with what little knowledge they had at the time.

00:12:06.960 This included helping Haskell write the Nine Noble Virtues.

00:12:11.000 Haskell had come up with a list of eight, and Stubba added the ninth one.

00:12:16.740 These virtues, along with Aushergothi Flavel's edition of Victory, are still used by the

00:12:22.480 Aushergothi Folk Simile to this day.

00:12:25.600 Many of our folk, AFA or not, strive to live their lives by these virtues.

00:12:32.200 At Haskell's time in Midgarthor began to come to a close in the 70s, Stubba began much 0.72

00:12:39.140 of the face of the Odinokrite.

00:12:42.460 He became the first director of the court of O'gothar, leading important efforts in 0.98

00:12:46.680 bringing his folk back to the troth with the Iseer. 0.99

00:12:49.860 He assisted in the publishing of the Raven Banner, the first Alcatru publication in the 1.00

00:12:55.000 United Kingdom.

00:12:57.420 Stubba led the court of Gothar until 1989, when he retired from leadership to focus on

00:13:02.660 writings, recording of Alcetra music, and research.

00:13:08.060 He wrote and published several books in his lifetime, but perhaps most notably, he wrote

00:13:13.180 a letter to the Australian government requesting information and photographs of Helig mother

00:13:19.840 Alexander Rudd Mills.

00:13:22.080 He had nearly completed a manuscript regarding this, but there is no known copy in existence.

00:13:28.120 Stubba passed from Midgarth and joined his ancestors on September 25th, 2010.

00:13:32.840 He was given a funeral by the Royal Stewards Society, followed by an Alcintrus ceremony

00:13:38.280 where he was honored at the famous White Horse Stone, the resting place of Horsa, one of

00:13:43.320 the first Saxon chieftains to set foot in Britannia.

00:13:48.240 was a warrior, a student of our folk's history, an author, and a pioneer of our ancestral

00:13:54.260 faith. He was part of the tip of the spear, leading the British folk in reforging their

00:13:59.680 loyalty to the Aesir, and the Alcetru Folk Assembly will honor him forever. Hail Stubba,

00:14:06.820 hail the Aesir, hail the Alcetru Folk Assembly. And our holiday for the month, officially

00:14:14.980 on April 30th, with the observant day on the 19th, is Nornenot. Previously, we referred

00:14:24.400 to this as Hexenot, of course. When the ground was thawed and the colder weather was beginning

00:14:30.480 to give way, it became necessary to move the cattle from the winter fields to the summer

00:14:35.520 ones. Nornenot, traditionally, was a festival celebrating this very thing. The main focus

00:14:42.840 of the holiday was the bonfire. The men would all gather and build the large needfire. They

00:14:49.320 would then walk the cattle through the smoke to bless them before rehoming them for the

00:14:53.420 warm months. Often the men would call on Freyr during the night, asking for fertility

00:15:00.080 and abundance. While the men were off blessing the cattle, the women gathered together for

00:15:06.640 their own festivities. They had their own bonfires, and it was during this time that

00:15:12.680 the women often burned herbs and practiced their local magic, or sedhe. As the men called

00:15:19.400 Anfraer, the women would often call Anfraea. After the separate celebrations, men and women

00:15:27.840 would come together and continue the festivities. We in the AFA celebrate this day as Nornanuts,

00:15:35.840 instead of, any more common, Valpurgisnacht.

00:15:41.380 Valpurgisnacht is named such because it is a night before the Christian feast day honoring St. Valpurgia,

00:15:47.960 who was credited with healing and repelling witches.

00:15:51.880 Certainly not something for our folk to celebrate.

00:15:55.780 Men and women celebrating separately and then coming together

00:15:59.120 are one of the main features of Nurnanauts, as well as the bonfires.

00:16:03.780 A good way to celebrate the holiday might include the men building the bonfire, or the women practice communal saver.

00:16:12.200 When they are finished, the men and women can join together around the bonfire.

00:16:16.940 The women can throw herbs into the fire, and asking for the blessings of Freyr and Freya,

00:16:23.480 the men, women, and children can each take turns walking through the smoke.

00:16:30.100 Thank you so much everybody for listening in again today.

00:16:33.780 If you guys have any questions about any of the holidays, the names, or anything like that,

00:16:39.560 don't hesitate to ask any of the Folkbillers, Leadership, Gotar.

00:16:44.360 We're all happy to answer any questions you got.

00:16:47.680 And we'll talk to you next month about Summonermann, of course, and our Days of Remembrance in May.

00:16:54.960 And I know we're a ways off. I'm not going to plug it too big.

00:16:58.300 but get ready

00:16:59.740 Midsommar over at Odenshof

00:17:02.340 is coming up in just a couple months

00:17:03.860 so we'll give you a big plug

00:17:06.460 for it and stuff next month

00:17:08.360 but if you get frisky to buy

00:17:10.480 some tickets ahead of time

00:17:11.660 runestone.org slash store

00:17:14.080 thank you all so much

00:17:16.620 again and

00:17:18.440 of course as always

00:17:20.480 Hail

00:17:24.320 Yarl Hakan

00:17:25.340 Hail Stubba

00:17:27.960 Hail Threyr, hail Threya, hail the Nornir.

00:17:32.960 Hail the Aesir, hail the folk, hail the AFA, hail victory.

00:17:39.960 Goodnight, y'all.

00:17:57.960 Thank you.

Asatru Folk Assembly - April 08, 2025

Asatru Holidays - April 2025 - Jarl Hákon ｜ Stubba ｜ Nornanótt

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