Hello Vikings!
It's December, for many of us it is a special time of the year, when we live the holidays, enjoy the winter. When I recently started to wonder what I could tell you about in the next devlog, I thought about the Vikings' lives during the winter. I’ll also show you some nice shots.
Ok, let's get down to business and start with Yule - a pagan festival celebrated by Germanic peoples began on the winter solstice and lasted 12 days. How many Nordic holidays were associated with feasting, drinking and making offerings - "wassail" is a word that I didn’t know and needed in my life.
One specific ritual was the Yule Log. A log of ash, which had to be cut or given as a gift (never bought!), was set on fire using a piece of last year's trunk and allowed to glow for the duration of the festival. The ashes obtained in this way were said to ward off evil spirits, fate and disease.
Traditionally, the sacrifice was a wild boar - Sonargöltr, in the bristles of which the so-called oaths were made. Heitstrenging such as Harald Fairhair swore to not cut his hair until he became king of united Norway. Supposedly, some of these traditions still function in Scandinavia (perhaps some of you could confirm or explain), such as Yule goat. Nowadays, it's associated with a straw Christmas tree ornament tied with a red ribbon, but it used to be associated with fertility rituals or Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr - goats harnessed to Thor's chariot. Many pagan traditions have been integrated with Christian holidays under the doctrine of Interpretatio Christiana. For example, Norway's King Haakon the Good made a law to move Yule to December 25. The saga of his life in Heimskringla speaks of 3 days of celebration, so he changed not only the start date but also the duration. Who knows, maybe Santa Claus is Odin in disguise.
However, winter isn’t just a time for feasting. Above all, you had to treat it with respect and prepare for it accordingly. 1000 years ago there were no shops, norse people had to rely on themselves. In the autumn, the animals were slaughtered, partly to reduce the amount of fodder needed, but also so that the resulting meat could be used as supplies. Many methods of preservation were used, such as drying, salting or smoking. Take a look at the Smokehouse below. In Viking City Builder, it’s a building that ensures longer use of food products, mainly useful in preparation for winter.
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The grains were stored, the vegetables were buried, the milk was turned into butter or skyr. The building that produces dairy products from the resource you receive is called Dairy. This is what it will look like in my game.
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Beer was brewed, fuel was collected in advance. The building that produces alcoholic beverages from the resources provided is Brewery. Here's what this object will look like in Viking City Builder.
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The proper management of stocks and the year-round collection of these were decisive for the life and death of the inhabitants.
It was difficult to move in the land covered with ice and covered with snow. Today we associate ice skating, skis and sleighs with winter fun. While norse people also used the above-mentioned for sports, they were used primarily as a means of transport. Ice skates were most often made of bone and tied to shoes. The skis differed in length, one long skid - a skid and the other short - drive. They used a lunar calendar, where a month had one cycle of moon phases, and winter was one of the two seasons (the other being of course summer). Of course, you have to take into account geographical discrepancies - the Danes felt the seasons differently than their northern brothers. The higher the latitude, the more the effects of polar days and nights were felt. To this day, it’s a problem that the Swedes and Norwegians solve through exposure and trips south. Some compensation is the opportunity to experience the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Surprisingly, no reference to Viking mythology can be found in reliable sources. Some claim that the lights were reflections or glow from armour of the Valkyries, but that's more along the lines of wishful thinking or so called modern interpretation.
Ok, that would be it for a devlog. Whereas…
My Dear Vikings, regardless of who and to whom you will spend the end of December, I wish you that this time will be filled with joy, health and peace. May the Gods protect you and send you many favors!
Roslagen