Although the feasts were holy in nature, it was no somber-faced affair as you would see in Churches on Sunday morning. It is logical to assume that the blót before the feast, where the animal was sacrificed was a very somber affair. If, as is my speculation, that this blót was performed at a holy site different from the hof (hall) where the feast was held, we could very easily see this part of the Blót-Feast as being a very respectful affair. In any case though, by the time the feast began it was a time of joy and celebration. Just as the ties between and god and man were being strengthened and celebrated so where the ties between family and community. The feasts connected with the worship of Nerthus which is described by Tacitus show us a community celebrating with great joy. (211) Davidson agrees with this view as well when she says, "In the regular feasts in honor of the gods the atmosphere was apparently one of hospitality and enjoyment; everything that can be discovered about the celebrations at Skedemosse in the period before the Viking Age, for instance, suggests that a good time was had by all, and that the torch-lit feasting and throwing of offerings into the water must have been a memorable experience." - (212)

There were special activities during blót-feasts. From Gregory's dialogues and from the account of Adam of Bremen there was playing and singing. (213) In Fornmanna Sögur (VI, 99) Harld Hardradi of Norway arranged for the telling of a saga that would last for the entire 12 days of Yule. This tradition lasted into Christian time and was appropriated by the Christians for their festivals. (214) There might also be games and contests (215) such as sports contests, racing, and wrestling to name only a few. (216) So it is easy to see that the great feasts were times of celebration and fellowship between the family and community.

Some scholars believe that once a feast had started strangers were barred from participating. (217) As the Norse were renowned for their hospitality this is something that is hard to accept. One example used to put forth this idea is that of Sigvat, the Christian skald. On a mission for the Christian king of Norway, he was traveling through Sweden. In late autumn he was turned away from more than one farm (hof) because they were holding the Álfablót. This was, however, more likely to been because Sigvat was a Christian than to have been because he was a stranger coming late. He was turned away 'as if he were a wolf.' One of the hofkonar (farm-wives) was said to have said that she feared the anger of Othinn should she let him in. (218) From this evidence it seems more likely that it was the Christian that was not welcome as opposed to the late-coming stranger. Earlier in the Viking Age before Christianity had been able to get a foothold Christians were expected to attend the blót-feasts whether or not they wanted to or not as was the case with the Langobards. (219) Others instead allowed the Christians to pay a fine if they did not attend.

The Procession

The procession is an event that takes place before the blót-feast and may be a custom specifically connected with Vanir worship. We have more than few descriptions of these processions and in nearly every case it is a Vanir god or goddess that is being honored. The oldest account we have is from Tacitus which scholars believe to be describing a procession that is in honor of Nerthus (Herthum), the Earth Mother. A wagon drawn by two oxen made its way throughout the land and wherever it came it was welcomed with great delight and celebration. Weapons were put aside and the people feasted for days. (220) The wagon was so integral to the processions of the Vanir that they are some times called Wanes which is the Anglo-Saxon word meaning "wagon."

Two delicately made wagons were found in a peat bog that are dated to about the same time as Tacitus was writing his descriptions in Germania. They were found dismantled in a peat bog in Dejbjorg Denmark. They were made of wood and decorated with sheet bronze. Another decorated wagon was found in the Oseberg ship find which was buried in the late ninth century. It was carved with elaborately carved scenes with human and animal figures and because of the style is thought to be a copy of a much earlier version. (221) The ship burial at Oseberg is thought to possibly have been the burial of a Vanir gythja (priestess). The reason for this is because of the beautifully decorated wagon and the corn, apples and nuts that were found in the ship. Davidson says that the ship was admirably suited to take a priestess up and down the coast from one settlement to the other on a course of visits like those made by Nerthus in Denmark. (222)

There was also a procession much like the one described of Nerthus that was in honor of Freyr. In the Flateyjarbók there is a tale that is attached to the Saga of Olaf Tryggvasson in which Gunnar poses as the god Freyr and dupes the trusting Swedes, bilking them of many gifts and their gythja who was called the wife of Freyr, until Olaf finally calls him back to Norway. It is obvious from the account that the writer intended to show the folly of Northern worship. Despite this, it is probable that the tradition of the statue of Freyr being carried in a wagon which made processions is one that is based on actual practices in Sweden as it was the whole basis of the jest. (223) In this account the people flocked to the wagon and brought their offerings and celebrated with feasts in the same manner as is described for Nerthus by Tacitus. (224)

Other processions may have been common with other deities and with holy objects. Grimm states that the carrying out of divine images was an essential feature of Northern cults in general. Grimm mentions an account of an unknown Gothic god that rode in a wagon. In folklore Dame Holda and Berhta make processions in wagons during midwinter. And there is Deitrich which Grimm theorizes is based on an earlier legend concerning Freyr who rides a golden boar in a procession and there is the heroes banquet in which the boar is led around the benches in a procession, albeit a short one. (225)

Grimm also theorizes that the practice of carrying images of the Madonna and images of the saints in processions during times of drought, bad crops, pestilence or war was most likely a borrowing of Northern practices. These processions were thought to bring back rain, the fertility of the soil, etc., and Grimm says that they were even carried to help put out fires. (226)

Grimm states that incense-offerings were not used by Northmen and is a Christian addition. (227) But then he goes on to say, in descriptions of Midsummer traditions that Northfolk were said to throw all manners of herbs into the fires. I would submit that since more than few herbs are used as incense that this practice points to the distinct possibility that incense was in fact used by Northfolk. As we shall see when I deal with the types of offerings that were made, there were quite a few possibilities for offerings and many times it depended on the means each person, as to what they offered. Incense may have been one of these offerings.

I would like to hear examine the Full with a little more detail. In Old Norse the word 'full' means 'a toast' (228), usually in honor of the gods and goddesses or ancestors. The full was a symbol of that agreement that ended the war between the Aesir and Vanir which has never been broken. Each time we raise the horn to honor both Aesir and Vanir we honor that agreement. (229)

As we saw in the descriptions of the blót feast the rounds of full had a set pattern. The first full going to either Othinn or Thorr, the next going to Njorthr and Freyr, next was the Braggi-Full during which oaths and boasts were made and finally the Minni-Full (memory toast) for ancestors and friends who have passed over. Specifically it was said that these were drank to 'kinsmen who lay in barrows (graves)." (230) This same formula is virtually repeated in Hákonar Saga goða when Jarl Sigurd drinks to Othinn for power and victory, Njörth and freyr for peace and good seasons and to the dead ancestors. (231) These full were always drank with hallowed mead or ale. The full was drank in honor of other gods and goddesses than those already mentioned. Freya is mentioned as having a full drank in honor of her and this practice was one that was continued by the Christians when they drank the full in honor of Christ, Mary and St. Michael as was done by Olaf in Fornm. sögur. In the same saga it is demanded of Olaf later on that he drink the full in honor of Thorr, Othinn and the other ases (gods). (232)

A major part of the full was the Braggi-full. During this full one would either make an oath to accomplish some dead or relate how they had completed an oath that had been sworn at a pervious blót-feast. In Hervarar Saga such an oath is made (233) and there was also a Braggi-full oath involved in the coronation of a new king. In Ynglinga Saga we have one such oath described. It is said there that it was the custom of the one who was heir to the throne to throw an heir-ship feast. At this feast he would sit on a footstool in front of the high-seat until the full bowl (cauldron?) was brought in and was then to take the Braggi-horn and make solemn vows that he would fulfill. After that he would ascend to the high seat and officially take the kingship. It is related that King Ingjald stood up and grasped a large bull's horn and made a vow to expand his kingdom in all four directions. He then took the horn and pointed it to the four quarters. (234)

As is possibly indicated from chapter 40 of Ynglinga saga it seems that the ale or mead that was drank came from a hallowed cauldron. The Suevic cupa which was filled with beer was a hallowed sacrificial cauldron as was the one which the Cimbri sent to emperor Augustus. (235) Large cauldrons have been found in Germanic graves. (236)

That the cauldron was a genuine tradition can be shown in what I call "Christian Propaganda." These are tales told that illustrate the power of Christian priests and clerics over Northern gods. One such example is in the Life of St. Columabanus, which is a Latin work written in the seventh century. In this tale the saint comes to the Alamanni in Switzerland. there he sees a group of men clustered around a huge vessel they called cupa, which was surely a cauldron. It held about 20 measures of beer. When the saint asked the men what they were doing, they replied that they were offering the beer to Wodan. The saint was said to approach the cauldron and blew on it which caused it to shatter and all the beer was lost. Another similar story is found in a tale of St. Verdrastus. He accompanied the Frankish king, Chlothar to a blót feast. This was in the early days of the Christian conversion so Northern rites were still very much practiced. At this feast allowances were made for Christians. There were two cauldrons set up, one for Christians and one for Northmen that had been prepared according to their customs. Seeing this Vedrastus made the sign of the cross over the Northern cauldron and it burst and many were said to be converted by his show of power. (237) Now it is obvious that these stories are nothing more than Christian propaganda but they do show that the practice of ale, beer or mead in a holy cauldron at blót feasts was a genuine Northern practice. Otherwise the Christians would not have singled out this practice for their propaganda.