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Dec. 19, 2019 - Radio Free Nortwest - H.A. Covington
57:48
20191219_rfn-1
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Oh, then tell me, Sean O 'Farrell, tell me why you hurry so.
Hush, O 'Farrell, hush and listen, and his cheeks were all aglow.
I bear orders from the captain, get you ready quick and soon, for the bikes must be together by the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon.
By the rising of the moon For the pikes will stay together By the rising of the moon Oh, then tell me, Sean O 'Farrell, where the gathering is to be.
In the old spot by the river, right well known to you and me.
One word more for signal, token whistle, other than arching tune.
Out from many a mud wall cabin eyes were watching through the night.
Many a manly chest was throbbing for the blessed warming light.
The storm was passed along the valleys like the man she's lonely crew.
And a thousand blades were flashing at the rising of the moon.
At the rising of the moon, at the rising of the moon.
And a thousand blades were flashing at the rising of the moon.
Greetings, comrades.
This is the Count of Lettice.
We have prepared for you a special musical episode for the end of the year.
Hope you enjoy the selection.
The first song comes from our Slavic folk.
In the old days, the end of the year saw some of the bravest days of our folk.
There was a tradition among the European peoples of the North and East to have festivities in the midst of winter.
This also has a mythological origin associated with the wild hunt from the old deities.
This first song is from Juvia, The Wild Hunt.
The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This next song comes from Norway.
This is a Christian instrumental trio.
This next song is an old tale, the tale of Saint Sányva, an Irish saint with a Norse history.
This musical group is called "Bukene Bruse" and the song is signed "Saniva".
"Bukene Bruse"
"Bukene Bruse"
"Bukene Bruse" ORCHESTRA
PLAYS ORCHESTRA
PLAYS ORCHESTRA PLAYS Thank you.
This next song is for our old believers.
Let's listen to a project from Scandinavia bringing back the old traditions.
This is Sovulo singing about Yule, the end of the year, a commemoration of the wild hunt of the old gods.
Sovulo singing.
you Back to the Celtics.
Let's play a last Celtic song for today.
This next song highlights the beauty of the Irish language.
This is the choral scholars of University College Dublin, singing a traditional Irish song: "Moyilar Mar" "My Gallant Hero" "Sheem a Lech Ma'ilammer, Sheem a Hezang elammer"
"Ni-or-se-nen-tu-n-ar-shem, O-chul-ge-ge-ma'il-ammer" "Sheem a Lech
Ma'ilammer, Sheem a Hezang elammer""Ni-or-se-nen-tu-n-ar-shem, O-chul-ge-ge-ge-n-moyel-ammer"
"Inche-bun-er-bor-gak-no, E-k-wi-ga-k-u-se-g-tor-ne-mmer"
Oh, my God.
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh you This one coming up next is for our Christian folk.
We have what I consider the best interpretation of this crusader song.
This song was composed for the fifth crusade that accounted mostly of knights from Germanic kingdoms.
This song details the accounts of the pilgrims that visited Palestine.
The author von der Vogelwied asserts that Muslims and Jews are undeserving of the land.
and that christians hold the only true claim to the land for obvious reasons quite thematic for the season this is palestina lead This
next piece is, perhaps, the best attempt to rehabilitate the Spanish language from the speaks.
This is a musical group from the Iberia Peninsula with some French elements.
Continuing with the snowy and wintry theme of the end of the year, this group is called Trobar de Mort, and the song is La Dama del Invierno, The Winter Lady.
piano plays softly
piano plays softly
piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays
softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly
piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly Let's
pray.
Let's pray.
To close this special episode, let's listen to a neo-folk music project from Luxembourg.
This band is mostly a one-man project from Jerome Reuter.
His last album became controversial, as he directly criticizes the ongoing situation in Europe.
I do not know of Jerome's entire political views, but from what I can gather, he's nationalist and he's quite upset.
This last song is called One Lion's Roar.
And the name of the band is Rome.
I hope you have enjoyed this special episode.
So go kneeling way and join the herd.
You know a million sheep will be dispersed.
By one lion's roar.
By one lion's roar.
Either step aside for every god knows.
Amen.
Everything will crumble under his blows You think yourselves weak, pathetic and overrun And that all you've bled for
is coming undone And
cause a stir as if it were the last one.
Curse them into hiding.
These thieves won't believe the way we're ridin'.
So go kneel and wait and join the herd.
You know a million sheep will be dispersed by one white lion's roar.
I was destined to become a soldier.
I was destined to become a poet, an aviator.
I was destined to see a new world to conquer the city with a flaming sword.
So go kneel and wait and join the herd.
You know a million sheep will be dispersed.
Be dispersed Go kneel and wave Join the herd You know A million sheep Will be dispersed By one Lion's Roar By one Lion's Roar Go kneel and wave Join the herd You know
A million sheep Will be dispersed Oh by one Lion's Roar By one Lion's Roar Go kneel and wave Join the herd You know A million sheep Will be dispersed By one Lion's Roar
By one Lion's Roar By one Lion's Roar By one Lion's Roar The hearth is
kindled.
Snow is falling, and Christmas trees litter the street.
Once again, December is upon us, and with it, the holiday spirit.
Today, even in our secular age, Christmas remains one of the most important times of the year.
A time of giving, a time of sharing, and one of long-standing traditions.
This is not to say, however, that no parts of Christmas have been lost in modern times.
Secularity and so-called progress All are new additions,
ultimately foreign to the celebration, and thus easily lost.
What has survived, despite attacks, is the ancient core, the heart of Christmastide, and it is thoroughly pagan in nature.
I will dive into the origins of the Christmas traditions and explore the pre-Christian spirit that still pervades the holiday today.
This is a broad topic, as a great deal of our traditions have pagan roots, but I will try to cover it as inclusively and factually as I can, to begin understanding the original, deeply Germanic roots of Christmas.
We must first distance ourselves from that very name.
Christmas, derived from Old English Christi Miss, or Christ's Mass, is a renaming of the original festival.
The name first appeared in the 11th century, but the holiday itself is far, far older, and through all of that time, it was known by another name, Yule.
Yule, or Yuletide, is an ancient name, traceable back to a common proto-Germanic root, which it shares with Yule, or Yule.
The Norse name for the holiday.
Here in the Nordics, Yule is still the name of Christmas, one of many signs that the old ways remain stronger here than in much of Europe.
As the word goes back all the way to the common ancestor of all Germanic languages, we know that the celebration itself must also be as old as the Germanic peoples themselves.
For as long as there have been Teutons, there has also been Yule.
Yuletide was the term for the celebration itself.
But was also considered a month spanning the deepest parts of winter.
This was a harsh and dreary time, one of relentless snow and long, freezing nights.
At the very height of this month, midwinter, the darkest point, was Yule.
It's not hard to see why such a frightful time would have motivated the old Teutons to seek the help of the gods and land spirits.
At the same time, such a festival was a distraction from the misery and uncertainty that abounded.
Sheltered from the raging winter within the sturdy walls of a temple, the people would gather around a warm hearth.
Here they would toast the gods while drinking the holy ale, the nectar of the Aesir, mead, or mjöl.
The Yule festival was centered around a great feast, accompanied by copious amounts of drinking.
Here, people would beckon to the land spirits, ancestors, and gods.
One god in particular had a significant role in Yule, but we'll get to him soon.
One of the ways in which the gods were invoked was through sacrifice.
As the Heimskringler recounts, livestock of various kinds were brought into the temple, including sacred horses, where they were slaughtered.
Their blood was then gathered onto so-called sacrificial twigs and sprinkled onto the walls of the temple and the idols of the gods, along with all of the men attending the festival.
The meat was then consumed, completing the sacrifice.
One such sacrifice Here we see a tradition of people pledging vows for the next year at midwinter,
and it is from here That our tradition of New Year's resolutions descends.
The boar was an animal associated with the god Frey, or Frey in Danish.
After sacrificing the boar, its flesh was eaten, imploring Frey to be favorable during the coming year.
This practice survived the coming of Christianity, by replacing Frey with the Saint Stephen, and to this day, the Christmas ham remains an important part of the traditional Yule menu, beyond the walls of the temple.
The winter world of the ancient Germanic peoples was a dangerous place.
When the days grew short, the barriers between the living and the dead likewise withered, as the denizens of hell had emerged into Midgard.
Spirits abounded at this time, and the ultimate culmination of this was a ghostly procession of hunters, riding through the night.
This tradition, too, survived Christianity, and in the 12th century, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports as follows: Let no one be surprised at what we are about to relate, for it was common gossip up and down the countryside, that after the 6th of February, many people both saw and heard a whole pack of huntsmen in full cry.
They straddled black horses and black ducks, while their hounds were pitch black with staring hideous eyes.
This was seen in the very dear park of Peterborough town, and in all of the woods stretching from that same spot as far as Stamford.
All through the night, Monks heard them sounding and winding their horns.
Reliable witnesses who kept watching the night declared that there might well have been twenty or even thirty of them in this wild tantamity, as near as they could tell.
So went the account from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and there are many others like it.
Over the fields and through the woods of deepest winter, this ethereal host rode across the land, seeding fear in the hearts of those encountered.
This was the wild hunt.
The fears of winter made manifest.
The leader of the hunt has varied somewhat over the years, with local folkloric figures occasionally heading.
But one character is deeply identified with the hunt.
Odin.
His prominence is demonstrated by the local names of the Wild Hunt across the Germanic world.
In England, it was known as Woden's Hunt.
In Scandinavia, Odin's Jagd, both of the same meaning.
And in Germany, as Wotanus Herr, Odin's Army.
Other mythic characters also made appearances.
But most appear to have been other names for the Allfather, and even when they weren't, it could be said that Odin was never far behind.
In the old Germanic faith, Odin had many roles, and one of them was as god of the dead.
The hunt was a key aspect of Yuletide, and one that has given rise to an aspect of modern Christmas superficially so dissimilar it can be hard to believe.
Good old Santa is a jolly fellow with a big belly and a sack full of presents.
He's also heavily identified with the historical figure of St. Nicholas, a real person who was indeed known for giving gifts to the poor in ancient Anatolia, now Turkey.
How, then, could the tradition of Santa Claus possibly have pagan roots?
Well, for one, the very word jolly may originally have been a French form of the Old Norse yoru, that is, yule.
The story of the actual character of Santa, however, is more complicated.
It's one that involves syncretism.
The process in which aspects of two or more religions emerge.
The interplay of the Germanic faith and Christianity is a fascinating topic.
But to put a very long story short, the modern character of Santa Claus is based on both Saint Nicholas and Odin.
In the centuries after his death, a day of gift-giving to children was created in veneration.
The date of this was originally the 6th of December, but was moved to Christmas after the Protestant Revolution.
While Saint Nicholas himself was renamed Santa Claus, both as part of the Protestant suppression of saint worship thus.
The very name Santa Claus itself comes from Saint Nick, and so does the tradition of giving gift to children.
The similarities between this and a god of the dead leading wraiths across the sky may seem non-existent, but this is merely superficial.
Instead of seeing Jolly Nick, consider now Santa as a white bearded old man in a hood and cloak.
Riding across the northern skies in the depths of winter with his ethereal host, rewarding those he deems worthy, and punishing those who are not.
In the folk faith of the Teutons, Odin was also known as Jolnir, the Yule One, and Jaulo Hera, the Master of Yule.
The Wild Hunt was a cruel and dangerous horde, but the Allfather, as Lord of the Festival, Also bestowed boons upon those who worshipped and did well with sacrifice.
While Father Christmas travels across the world unseen with his flying reindeer, the Allfather passed through the Nine Worlds on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.
In this way, it can be said that though the name and certain traditions of Santa come from St. Nicholas, the cultural foundation of a winter gift-bringer was already firmly established and provided a basis for the tradition.
onto which a Christian image was merely painted.
The influence of Nicholas is undeniable, but it is also skinned Another essential Yule figure is the house spirit.
The house spirit is most prominent in the north, where we refer to it as Nissen in Denmark and Tumten in Swedish.
Though these whites are an essential part of Yuletide in the Nordics, no exact translation of the word exists in English.
It seems that this particular tradition died out in the Anglo-Saxon Yule, or perhaps was never as big a part of Yule as it is, and always has been, in the Norse faith.
Today, Nyssa are often translated as being a Nordic version of the Christmas elves, but this isn't quite accurate.
Christmas elves were invented in the US during the 19th century, and don't have any obvious folkloric past.
Despite this, their appearance is similar enough to the Norse house spirits.
That some sort of connection probably did exist.
One can draw comparisons with the Celtic Fae and the pagan Fair Folk.
Nyssa, in contrast, are a direct continuation of the Old Norse tradition, practiced before the coming of Christianity.
In the Germanic faith, the lines between lesser gods and powerful spirits were blurred, which is still reflected in the Nyssa today, who, despite Christianity, continue to be referred to in Danish as Husguder.
Today, Nyssa reside in homes, traditionally lofts, coming out only during Yuletide, when they must be appeased with offerings of porridge, lest they grow angry and punish their house owner with devious tricks.
This practice of offering is a form of sacrifice, descended from the old folkish practice of bloat, itself another word for sacrifice.
During the early days of Nyssa worship, they were, like all land spirits, Sometimes connected with the dead.
In this way, Nyssa were a part of the wider Germanic practice of ancestor worship.
For this reason, Nyssa were often said to live in bera mounds, which is reflected in names such as haugebunde, meaning mound farmer.
As Yule creatures and spirits of the dead, Nyssa may always have been related to Odin, and certainly always played a role in Yule, but their modern role in the holiday didn't develop until the 19th century.
Here, the Nisse were integrated into the modern Christmas tradition and became bearers of gifts, while increasingly resembling small versions of Santa.
Another uniquely northern tradition is that of the Yule Goat, or Julibuk in Danish.
During the 19th century, the Yule Goat was the bringer of gifts in the north, before being replaced by their Nisse and Father Christmas.
Predating even this tradition was that of men dressing up as the Yule Goat, Like so many rituals, it's difficult to say exactly where and when the yule goat came from, but there are many ideas.
The first, and perhaps most obvious, is that the yule goat represents Thor, whose goat-drawn chariot was one of the many examples of just how heavily identified he was with this animal.
Another idea is that the yule goat is derived from an even older tradition, shared with other Indo-European people.
And that it represents harvest and good fortune.
Today, Yule Goat is a common ornament throughout the Nordics, being particularly important in Sweden, where a giant hay statue called Jävle-Bukken is erected in the city of Jävle every year.
This colossal goat is famous for having been victim to Arsenal a frankly hilarious amount of times.
Since first being built in 1966, the goat has been damaged 37 times despite the presence of a fire station.
In other words, in the time the tradition has been going, the goat has been burned down more years than not.
Having spoken now of two mostly Nordic Christmas traditions, the Nisse and the Yule goat, let's instead look at one found almost exclusively in Britain.
This is the Yule log.
The Yule log, also called a Yule clog, is a log chosen to be burnt during the celebration.
Traditionally, the log has been a very large chunk of wood, burning over a period of several days, During which it was believed to ward off foul spirits and ailments.
The precise origins of the Yule log are unknown, but it has long been assumed to descend from the Anglo-Saxon folk faith.
Comparing the practice of the log to what we know about Germanic religion, certain parallels do seem to emerge, which might help to explain its origin.
Wood, or more correctly, trees, filled a central role in the faith of the Teutons.
And in this way, the Yule log may be related to another key part of Christmas.
Today, the Christmas tree is arguably the most important holiday tradition.
It is the literal center of the festivities, around which people dance, sing, and place presents.
Neo-pagans have often been quick to claim that Christmas trees are an obvious pagan inheritance, and so it may be somewhat surprising to learn that this really isn't quite true.
Christmas trees as we know them today first seem to have appeared in the Rhineland region of Germany during the early 18th century.
From there they spread, First to the rest of Germany, and then throughout the world.
It seems unlikely that this was the actual origin of the tradition, however, and like so many local customs, the Christmas tree may very well have existed for at least a century, if not more, before first being noted.
It's even possible that other traditions similar to the Rhineland Christmas trees existed locally, throughout the Germanic world, before all being absorbed into the unified concept of the holiday tree.
But this is pure speculation.
What is known is that trees, as I've mentioned earlier, played a vital role in the Germanic faith.
The center of the Germanic universe was Yggdrasil, the world tree, or Axis Mundi.
The nine worlds were nested within the branches of this vast tree, and at its base lies the well of wood, the waters of time and destiny.
Yuktesil was, of course, a metaphysical concept rather than a tangible object, and as such its symbolism permeated the world itself.
Every tree was potentially a representation of the great ash, a myth made manifest, and for this reason trees were often viewed as sacred by the old tutors.
It was common for trees to be placed in the middle of courtyards and religious sites.
Thus defining that area through the prisms of a cosmic axis around which it could revolve.
Here, a parallel with the Christmas tree immediately stands out.
Like the world ash and sacred trees of folkish faith, the Christmas trees stand as centers of the holiday, literally in the very middle of the festival.
It is, as mentioned before, the point around which people dance, around which they sing, around which they move and celebrate.
In other words, during the course of the holiday, the Christmas tree is the Axis Mundi.
Another aspect of the Christmas tree that harkens back to mighty Yggdrasil is its position in the yearly cycle.
Yggdrasil's roots extend into the world navel, the Well of Urd, which also symbolizes the past.
Here, they ferry upwards the waters of fate.
Through the great trunk and branches, these waters, again symbolic for fate, Make their ways into the world.
There, they affect Midgard and the people in it, but the opposite is also true.
In the world, we have the ability to influence the waters of fate, and soon enough, they drip back down into the well, into the past.
Put more simply, fate is predefined, but our actions at present can feed back into the past, giving us a form of autonomy, the ability to influence fate.
These feedbacks are a cycle, and in this way, the Christmas tree, standing at the point when the end of the year feeds into its birth, when fall feeds into spring, is likewise symbolic of this endless cycle of renewal inherent in the concept of cyclical time.
Regardless of the exact origins of the Christmas tree, one thing is certain.
When first it originated in Germany, it was not a foreign import.
It was...
Like all good traditions, born and shaped in its native land and culture.
Even if the Christmas tree itself does not extend all the way back into the old faith, it is, nonetheless, deeply rooted in a Germanic worldview.
That, perhaps, is the most important lesson out of all of us.
Though the conversion to Christianity throughout the Germanic world was essentially complete by the start of the 12th century, the spirit of the folk fame never went away.
The Germanic peoples have always had a strong will for independence and tradition, and this again made itself manifest in the ways they carried their old beliefs and customs into the new religion, often against the wishes of the priests and bishops.
Christmas today is a Christian holiday.
There's no doubt about that, nor any reason to contest it.
At the same time, however, it also remains Yule.
Angels may now fly through the northern skies, but the heart of winter has not changed.
Not since those very first students began honoring the gods at Yule, all those many years ago.
To look out into the midwinter night is to gaze.
Past the veil of modernity, and out into a world where spirits still rule those frozen hills.
Just be weary and strong of heart, for one never knows when the ghostly riders will sound their wild horns in the night.
You can visit the party on our website at www.northwestfront.org.
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