Asatru Holidays - December 2024 - Egill ｜ Yule
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Summary
Egil Skalgr graced us with his poetry, wisdom, and wisdom. He was a warrior, poet, farmer, and runemaster, and a master of the runes. He is best known for his epic poem, "The Battle of the Boreal Forest" and for his role in the murder of King Harald Fairhair.
Transcript
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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and folk of all ages, you know what time it is.
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it is december the first and it is time to go over the holidays holy days and days of remembrance
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of our people and for this month we've got two amazing amazing holidays
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first up on december 9th as always we have a day of remembrance and this month
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it's going to be awesome we follow this up with the yule tide season of course
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yule doesn't last just a day it's 12 days long starting on mother's night on december 20th
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going all the way to the end of the month december 31st we observe it on the 21st
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because that's the third saturday of the month makes it easy for people to get together at the
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hoffs but of course the holiday is the holiday 12 days of yule let's get into it learn a little
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bit about these days and do our thing all righty then egor scullergrimson's day of remembrance
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again is December 9th. He was born in 904 and passed away in 995. Of course common era.
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Egr Skalgrimson born 904 common era was an Icelandic warrior, poet, farmer, and runemaster.
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His parents were Skalgrimr, Kverdulfsson, and Bæra Ingvar's daughter. Skalgrimr was
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a renowned and respected chieftain back in Norway, but migrated to Iceland with his wife
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and four children, so that he could be free from the influence of King Harald Fairhair.
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Eger's childhood was an extraordinary one. He composed his first poem at the age of three
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and took revenge on another boy for cheating in a game at the age of seven. His skills
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as both Eskald and Berserker showed early on in life, and would be carried with him
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Here I am at the hearth of my host Ingvar, the generous who grants gold to heroic men,
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three-handed fosterer, you'll find no three-year babe among bards more brilliant than me.
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was also a master of the runes. His most famous tale of rune magic involves healing a deathly
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sick woman. A local landowner had attempted to cast a love spell with runes carved into
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a bone which was placed under her pillow, but had mistakenly cast a spell of illness
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on the woman instead. Egil burned the illness runes and carved a healing spell instead.
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The woman's recovery was swift. Upon healing the sick woman, he recited a poem and famously
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said, Runes none should grave ever who knows not to read them. Later in life, Egil killed
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Later in life, Egil killed the retainer of King Erik Bloodaxe and Queen Gunnhildr, starting
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a blood feud that would last for the rest of their lives.
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Queen Gunnhildr sent her two brothers to take vengeance on Egil, but they were quickly sent
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Once Erik Bloodaxe became king of Norway soon after, he declared Egil an outlaw and sent
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They too were killed in their attempt to subdue the war poets.
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Before finally leaving Norway, Egil killed King Erik's son, Röngenveldr, and placed
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the horse's head on a nithingpor, saying, Here I set up a nithpor, and declare this
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neith against King Erich and Queen Gunnhildr. I declare this neith at the land spirits there,
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and the land itself, so that all will fare astray, not to hold nor find their places,
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not until they wreck King Erichl and Gunnhildr from the land."
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Egil and Gunnhildr found themselves ruling the kingdom of Northumbria in England.
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Egil soon found himself shipwrecked in their new realm.
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Egil went to the home of his friend Erlenbjörn, who advised him to offer his head to King
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Erlenbjörn made a case for Egil, while Egil himself composed a short poem for the king.
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King Gunnhildr were not swayed by this, and told Ergil that his offenses against them
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His execution was ordered to take place the following morning.
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Over what was supposed to be his last night on the side of the Vale, Ergil composed a
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When morning came, Egil recited the poem for the king, who was so impressed that he let
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After fighting for the Saxon king Atlastan, the famous Battle of Brunanbur, Egil was
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rewarded two chests of silver for his service and returned to his farm in Iceland.
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He remained prominent in local politics as he had truly become a legend amongst his folk.
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He lived to the age of 90 and passed beyond the Vale just before Iceland began converting
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He was survived by five children, all of which he had with his wife, Asgirtha, Björn's daughter.
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Egor represents the true duality of human nature.
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Egor's saga is one of war and one of love.
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We watch the pagan chief battle his way across all of Northern Europe, and we watch him immortalize
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his love of his friends and family through masterful poems.
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His loyalty to those who were important to him was tantamount to the man he became.
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Egil Skullergrimson lived a legendary life of adventure and poetry, of love and war.
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His might and skill as a warrior helped win the most famous battle in Anglo-Saxon history,
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and his prowess in poetry was the height of a long tradition of Nordic verse.
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His legacy has lasted over one thousand years, and it will last thousands more.
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Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the Yuletide season.
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Again it falls the 20th through the 31st of December, and we are going to observe it
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Yuletide is the 12-day period in December in which we hold our biggest celebrations.
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During the Yuletide, we celebrate our families and our tribes and the bonds that hold us
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We celebrate the bright fires of the hearth that keeps us warm, and we celebrate the rebirth
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We have made it halfway through the harshest time of the year.
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The sun begins to stay in the sky a little longer each day, moving us closer and closer
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celebrate by gathering together to feast and sing songs we put up our yule trees and our wreaths
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we bake cookies and give presents we build strong bonds and traditions that our children remember
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and pass on is a joyous time of the year we begin the yule tide on the 20th december called
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Mother's Night. During Mother's Night we celebrate our ancient mothers, the Desir,
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who kept the hearth flames burning bright. One way to celebrate this is to extinguish
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all of the lights in the house. Light a candle to represent the hearth flame,
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and if you have children, give them pots and pans. Starting at the central part of your home,
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or the hearth usually the kitchen and the stove but can be a literal hearth if you have the
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fireplace let the children chase the ill whites or the bad energy from each room by running through
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the house and banging the pots and pans as you go through each room light awaiting candle
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You are bringing the light of the hearth, of the goddess Frigga, of the Desir, into
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You can say something simple with each candle you light, like, the goddess Frigga bring
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love and light into this room, or the Desir bless this home and all who live within it.
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Hilltide ends on December 31st, a time when people can make oaths for themselves for the
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An AFTA tradition, started by our esteemed founder Stephen McNallan, focuses on celebrating
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12 Asatru virtues, industriousness, justice, courage, generosity, hospitality, moderation,
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Community, individuality, truth, steadfastness, loyalty, and wisdom.
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Each night we light a candle in honor of each of these virtues.
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Stephen McNallan has videos for each of these days on our YouTube channel.
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And we recommend that everyone take some time to watch them.
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We thank you so much for joining us for this recap of the holidays for December
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We thank you so much for joining us for this entire year