Asatru Holidays - June 2024 - King Athanaric ｜ Midsummer
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Summary
On June 9th, we celebrate the Day of Remembrance for King Athanaric of the Visigoths, and on June 20th we celebrate Midsommar, which is the longest day of the year.
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's a new month, it's June, so let's talk about the holidays, holy days, and days of remembrance for our people.
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As I said, it is June, and in June we have two very special days.
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As always, on the 9th of the month we have our Day of Remembrance, and this month it is for King Thanarek of the Visigoths.
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and then we'll follow that up officially on june 20th is midsummer and as always we observe these
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holidays if they fall on a specific day we observe them on the third saturday of the month so that
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would be the 15th all righty ladies and gents let's get down to it and learn a little bit about
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our holidays and Days of Remembrance, and we'll start with King Ithanaric.
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On June 9th, we celebrate the Day of Remembrance for King Ithanaric of the Visigoths.
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King Ithanaric, King of the Visigoths, ruled his people from 369 Common Era until he died
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Sometimes called the first and greatest king of his people,
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Viewing it as his responsibility to foster and promote the faith of his people,
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he went so far as to execute over 300 Visigoths
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Their Gothic culture was paramount, and he feared that the advent of Christianity would destroy it.
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During his twelve-year reign, Athanaric fiercely defended his culture against the advance of the Roman Christian conversion.
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In the early years, he allied with his fellow Visigoth king, Fridegger, to stop the encroachment of the Roman legions into their lands.
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While the two were allied, the Goths managed to stave off the Roman armies.
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For unknown reasons, however, Fritigern turned his army against Thanaric, causing the Gothic Civil War.
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In the early stages, Thanaric won every encounter he had with his one-time ally.
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This prompted Fritigern to turn and request aid from his former Roman enemy, Emperor Valens.
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Even so, despite some advances, Fritigern lost the war.
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The Gothic Civil War took a toll on the land and the Visigoths, however, and when the Huns
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began to invade shortly after the end of the Civil War, Fritigern appealed to Emperor
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Valen to allow him and his people to cross Indo-Roman land.
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The appeal was answered, but only for Fridegger, who had since converted to Christianity, and
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The rest of the Visigoths were left to fend for themselves.
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Despite his best efforts, King Athaneric was unable to hold his ground against the ruthless
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In the face of starvation, Athaneric led his people into the Alutis Valley, modern-day
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Transylvania, where they settled. In 380 Common Era, Athanaric was deposed and removed himself
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to none other than Constantinople and the lands of his once upon time enemy, the Roman Empire.
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The new emperor, Theodosius I, accepted Athanaric to the empire graciously.
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Upon his death, some two weeks later, Aetheric was buried in state to show Theodosius' respect for the Gothic culture.
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King Aetheric stood his ground in the face of all that would have torn him down.
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He recognized the importance of maintaining the culture of his people and saw the dangers of conversion for what they were.
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In these modern times, it is even more important to view authentic struggles for what they were,
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and to remember that the preservation of our people and our culture is so very paramount.
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It's about roots. It's about connections. It's about coming home.
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Let us always strive to make sure we have a home for our folk to come back to.
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Again, we follow that up, officially on June 20th, but more often honored on June 15th, the third Saturday of the month.
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For us, Midsommar is considered the official beginning of summer.
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But for our ancestors, who only recognized two seasons, winter and summer,
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The common factor between our ancestors' celebration and ours is the summer solstice.
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On Midsummer, we celebrate the longest day of the year and the shortest night.
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The dark and cold of winter is firmly past, and the days are full of vitality and life.
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The best-known symbol of midsummer is the bonfire.
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In Europe, bonfires are still lit and burned the whole night through.
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Men and women gather to celebrate the warm days and the successful planting season by dancing around the bonfire.
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Many people focus on love and fertility during the summer solstice,
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with folk traditions that include picking wildflowers and putting them under one's pillow to dream of the person they will marry.
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Couples often jump over the fire during midsummer to be blessed by the gods and the ancestors.
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The hard work that began with the blessing of the tools of the charming of the plow,
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and the planting of the seeds after Avstara has been finished.
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Now we tend to the growing crops and revel in the beauty of life.
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we could take a momentary break from the difficulties of life
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to embrace that which makes the hard work worth the effort.
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we must take the time to remember that the days will now begin to shorten once again.
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Winter will come, and our hard work is not yet done.