254:, has been interpreted as the "mother of nights", and thereby the longest night of the year, but the word is more correctly translated as "mothers' night". The association between midwinter and the winter solstice is related to the idea that the pre-Christian Yule was a celebration of the sun, a theory that first emerged in the 17th century and still had a few supporters among scholars in the early 20th century, but since then has been refuted and abandoned.
184:
In
Scandinavia, in popular language since the medieval period, midwinter can refer to the period from the middle of January to the middle of February, which usually is the coldest part of the year in northern Europe, sometimes with
49:
and the period from the middle of
January to the middle of February. Since the 18th century, it has sometimes been misunderstood as synonymous with the astronomical
106:
could indirectly also mean the winter solstice, which was regarded as 25 December in Anglo-Saxon
England, following the Julian calendar and the localisation of
65:, where it appears to have been a specific day or a number of days during the winter half of the year. Before Christianisation and the adoption of the
571:
653:
634:
557:
607:
485:
193:, fair weather on Candlemas indicates that at least half of winter remains, whereas foul weather means that winter is over. In the
701:
602:]. Acta Academiae Regiae Gustavi Adolphi (in Swedish). Vol. 91. Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur.
272:
696:
91:
42:
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20:
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Yule, Disthing and pre-ecclesiastical time-reckoning: Calendars and calendric rites in pre-Christian
Scandinavia
691:
62:
30:
471:
500:
259:
228:, has sometimes been misunderstood by scholars as synonymous with the astronomical winter solstice.
576:
549:
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Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning: Kalendrar och kalendariska riter i det förkristna Norden
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Beginning in the 18th century, the term midwinter, and associated terms such as the
Icelandic
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134:
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50:
194:
567:
685:
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is only attested from Snorri who located it to midwinter—the first day of Þorri.
81:
670:
617:
536:
121:, the fourth winter month, which corresponds to the middle of January in the
277:
213:
186:
156:
151:
was originally celebrated at midwinter, but in the 10th century, the king
118:
46:
189:
as winter's midpoint. In
British verses and proverbs attested since the
263:
says that "midwinter" can mean the winter solstice in modern
English.
73:, or it may have been based on a week system tied to the astronomical
125:. The entire month of Þorri was sometimes referred to as midwinter (
593:
94:
or specifically
Christmas Day (25 December), which was also called
41:. It appears with several meanings in later sources, including the
33:
where it was a period or a day which may have been determined by a
107:
251:
245:
221:
148:
101:
95:
85:
648:. Translated by Hollander, M. Lee. University of Texas Press.
480:(revised ed.). Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions.
627:
Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year
69:, the date of midwinter may have varied due to the use of a
53:, which the word also can refer to in contemporary English.
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week system, 5–11 February is known as the midwinter week.
438:
436:
359:
357:
355:
29:
is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the
454:
239:
233:
206:
162:
548:. Anglo-Saxon Texts. Vol. 12. Cambridge:
546:The Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium)
675:Kulturhistoriskt lexikon för nordisk medeltid
8:
646:Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
238:had been at the winter solstice. The word
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427:
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167:The half o' winter's to come and mair;
177:Scottish variation of a proverb about
117:, midwinter day was the first day of
7:
201:Association with the winter solstice
100:(midwinter's mass-day). Old English
14:
527:. In Óskarsson, Veturliði (ed.).
171:The half o' winter gane at Yule.
169:If Candlemas day be wet and foul,
165:If Candlemas day be dry and fair,
147:1230), the pre-Christian holiday
179:when the middle of winter occurs
37:before it was adapted into the
1:
273:First day of summer (Iceland)
159:, about three weeks earlier.
144:
61:Midwinter is attested in the
155:moved it to the same day as
677:(in Swedish). Vol. 11.
544:Karasawa, Kazutomo (2015).
718:
629:. London: Reaktion Books.
592:Nordberg, Andreas (2006).
506:Cambridge University Press
21:Midwinter (disambiguation)
18:
644:Snorri Sturluson (2007).
625:Parker, Eleanor (2022).
522:"The Icelandic calendar"
520:Jansson, Svante (2011).
472:Apperson, George Latimer
63:early Germanic calendars
31:early Germanic calendars
702:Early Germanic calendar
246:
240:
234:
232:wrote in 1747 that the
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102:
97:middes wintres mæssedæg
96:
86:
477:Dictionary of Proverbs
174:
110:' birth to this date.
90:could mean the entire
337:, pp. 36–37, 86.
550:Boydell & Brewer
501:Cambridge Dictionary
455:Cambridge Dictionary
260:Cambridge Dictionary
19:For other uses, see
697:January observances
577:The Washington Post
570:(2 February 1980).
418:, pp. 120–121.
191:early modern period
45:, the first day of
321:, pp. 36–37;
123:Gregorian calendar
115:Icelandic calendar
71:lunisolar calendar
39:Gregorian calendar
35:lunisolar calendar
16:Period of the year
655:978-0-292-73061-8
636:978-1-78914-672-1
572:"Today's Furcast"
559:978-1-84384-409-9
529:Scripta islandica
406:, pp. 81–82.
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135:Snorri Sturluson
133:). According to
113:In the medieval
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92:Christmas season
89:
43:Christmas season
717:
716:
712:
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710:
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692:Winter solstice
682:
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673:. "Midvinter".
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664:Further reading
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568:Kernan, Michael
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153:Haakon the Good
75:winter solstice
67:Julian calendar
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51:winter solstice
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380:Nordberg 2006
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364:Nordberg 2006
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581:. Retrieved
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509:. Retrieved
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347:Jansson 2011
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140:Heimskringla
138:
112:
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60:
57:Attestations
26:
25:
583:17 November
511:14 November
496:"midwinter"
392:Kernan 1980
323:Parker 2022
212: [
82:Old English
686:Categories
289:References
618:0065-0897
537:0582-3234
474:(2006) .
294:Citations
278:Midsummer
247:Modranect
224:modranect
187:Candlemas
157:Christmas
127:Old Norse
103:midwinter
87:midwinter
27:Midwinter
671:Bø, Olav
267:See also
241:hǫkunótt
235:hǫkunótt
209:hǫkunótt
465:Sources
131:miðvetr
652:
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598:[
525:(PDF)
216:]
119:Þorri
108:Jesus
47:Þorri
650:ISBN
631:ISBN
614:ISSN
604:ISBN
585:2023
554:ISBN
533:ISSN
513:2023
482:ISBN
257:The
252:Bede
195:Sámi
149:Yule
137:'s
80:In
688::
612:.
574:.
552:.
504:.
498:.
435:^
354:^
214:sv
145:c.
129::
84:,
77:.
658:.
639:.
620:.
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457:.
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143:(
23:.
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