Hearthside

Tonight is Mother’s Night, or at least it is when I celebrate it within my hearth. Bede recorded it as being the Eve of December 25th, or Christmas Eve. However, it likely shifted to that date after the introduction of Christianity. Some modern heathens celebrate Mother’s Night on the Eve of the Winter Solstice, and some celebrate it on December 24th. Others don’t celebrate it at all. So what is Mother’s Night? It is the celebration of the female ancestors, or Disir. It is similar to, or may be the same celebration as Disting of Disablot, which doesn’t seem to have a set date in the sources. Some modern heathens celebrate both separately, with Disting usually falling somewhere between January 31st and mid-February. Others celebrate one or the other, and some celebrate neither. The truth is modern heathens don’t really agree much on what holidays to celebrate other than the major 3: Sigrblot, Winter Nights, and Yule. (And often with the addition of a 4th at Midsummer.) It is up to the t...