~ By Courtesy of Others ~
First Song for the
Midwinter Sacrifice
Now the nights of need are long;
darkness envelops the settlements in Midgard.
Trolls and giants trample the road,
wights walk free in the world.
Now the nights of need are long;
winds are blowing coldly and cruelly.
The procession of spirits is hastening--
Odin's hunt--on the winds of Yule.
Now the nights of need are long;
the winds of the winter sky rage.
Thor fights bravely against giants,
defends the children of Embla eagerly.
Now the nights of need are long;
ice glimmers on every field.
The boar-god comes to farmsteads;
Freyr sees frost-hardened earth on the path.
Soon the nights of need will be short;
a guardian tree keeps watch alone.
Spirits of kin--Alfar, Disir--
receive their gift from the farmstead people.
Soon the nights of need will be short;
the farmstead people are celebrating the sacrifice.
Many gods are honored with memory-toasts:
Æsir, Vanir without number.
Soon the nights of need will be short;
the fire's glow shines from the farmstead,
and divine guests are welcomed joyfully.
Tradition and memory seldom fail.
© Ingeborg S. Nordèn
Find here Ingeborg´s original poem in Swedish .
Image "Night Sun": © Juergen Eilts, used by permission.