Speaks WIth Forked Tongue -- December 21, 2019

First things first: looks like three NFL football games today. Whoo-hoo! I quit watching NFL football some years ago, but the impeachment "thing" has driven me to this. Anything to try to get my mind off politics. [Later: nope. I won't be watching them. They are on NFLN which we don't get. This is exactly how the NFL becomes irrelevant.]

Speaks with forked tongue:

I'll be watching this all day long:

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Happy Yuletide

The Book Page

From The Vikings: A History, Robert Ferguson, c. 2009, pp. 265 - 266:

During the Viking Age ... little is known of how time was measured before the introduction of the Christian calendar, but it is believed that the Heathens (Vikings) observed a so-called 'bound' lunar year, which followed a lunisolar calendar of the type described by the Venerable Bede in the De temporum ratione.

The twelve months of this year, each lasting from one full moon to the next, had no connection with the twelve, thirty-day months of the Christian calendar.

Linguists believe that two of the names of the months used in Iceland after the introduction of the Christian calendar, thorri and goi, are probably survivals form the Heathen lunisolar calendar.

The year was divided into winter and summer half-years of six months each, and into quarters by four great communal feasts.

An autumn sacrifice started the year, and this was followed by the midwinter feast of Jól. Jul remains the standard term for Christmas in all three Scandinavian languages and yule enjoys a perilous survival in modern English.

The etymology of the word is unknown, but the feast's connection with Odin is apparent by its occurrence in the 'Haraldskvæthi', composed for Harald Finehair by Torbjørn Hornklovi in about 900,where the poet says that the king 'Uti vill jól drekka' ('will drink in Yule'), and adds the obscure reference ok Freysleik heyja' ('and play Frey's game').

Snorri says that the ritual brewing and drinking of ale took place, and that horses and cattle were sacrificed and the blood collected in what he calls blaut-vessels, from which toasts were drunk.

Odin, Frey, the obscure Njord and possibly Thor were hailed in this fashion. The mixture of blood and alcohol may expalin the name Jølnir, denoting Odin's manifestation of himself as god of the intoxication that encourages fellowship, and of the ecstasy that facilitates supernatural communication between men and gods.

The toast was drunk 'til drs oc til fritbar'. The first element was a prayer for good catches at sea and goodharvest on land; the scond prayed for peace, and for good luck in breeding, for livestock and people alike. It may be suggest thet 'Frey's game' in Torbjørn's poem was a euphemism for the sexual act.