Feast like a True Viking

Feasting in Paganism is an important part of how we celebrate our holidays, and there are some important things to observe and relationships to consider. This guide is for those of you out there who are just getting into the Heathen faith, maybe are thinking of hosting a feast for the first time or you have a loved one who is Norse Pagan and you just wanted to tag along and see what this is all about.

If you’re the latter, we hope someone Googled this for you to read on the way over. This shouldn’t take too long to explain, and by the end it’ll be like you’ve been feasting with Heathens for years.

This not a guide for how to act like a jerk.

It’s inevitable that people are going to be disappointed in this guide because they are hoping to see their concept of Vikings and other pre-Christian Pagans behaving like uncouth barbarians. That is how they were seen by later Christian writers and travel writers who observed them.

Vikings had their own culture and decorum, just like every other culture in the world. Their culture has passed into history and while there are parts of that culture that we think are worth examining and reconstructing, Heathens are under no obligation to resurrect the Viking Age. Nor is anyone more or less “Heathen” based on how closely they cleave to the cultural norms and practices of bygone ages.

Manners vary from culture to culture, but every culture has manners.

But this isn’t just about etiquette. Feasting is more than a cultural phenomenon. It’s a deeply ingrained part of Norse Pagan religious ceremony. It consistently forgotten in favor of Symble (and, in fact, the two are conflated in historical literature), but it is equally important and we want to distinguish it here from the Symble.

If you’re curious about Symble, here is our blog on how to Symbel.

Hospitality is a foundational value in Heathenry

Forget the Nine Noble Virtues for just a second (or forget them entirely, if you’d rather).  It’s hard to imagine Heathen culture without hospitality and the relationship between guest and host. And hospitality is rooted in our faith in the abundance of goodness and our love of sharing that abundance. We love good food, good drink and sharing those things with people. The value we place on Hospitality and sharing all the abundant good that life has to offer us with everyone we can is a cornerstone for Heathens.

The Hall

What is the Hall? You’ll hear Heathens referring to places as “the Hall” when they don’t even remotely resemble an actual “Hall” of any kind.

The Hall could be anywhere. Could be someone’s living room. Could be a basement. It could even just be a hall. The Hall is wherever people gather in a “Frithstead.” And Frithstead is one of those really neat religious concepts that both needs explaining and is almost impossible to fully explain.

If you are in a “Frithstead” you will feel like you can really be yourself. Some people in that environment start breaking out the Lutes and the Lyres and get singing. And if the song is catchy, you’ll sometimes find that everyone starts singing along. Dancing has been known to happen too, at larger events.

Above all: a Frithstead means safety

A Frithstead means safety and that safety is guaranteed by the host. To violate the “Frith of the Hall” is one of the biggest taboos in Heathenry and you should consider this universal. To “violate the Frith of the Hall” means things like endangering the safety of others, engaging in unwanted sexual advances, giving people drugs or getting them to drink more than they wanted or anything that hurts others or makes them feel unsafe.

The Hall isn’t just safe space; it’s sacred space. If you violate the Frith of the Hall, that means the Host has to restore Frith either by ejecting you from the event or ending the event entirely to preserve the safety of those who are there.

Heathens take this very seriously.

Formal versus Informal Feasts

There isn’t a fine line at Heathen feasts between what is “formal” versus “informal” but like most things in life it exists on a sliding scale.

More Formal Pagan Feasts Generally Include

• A clear Host or Host Family that sponsors the event and all or most of the food
• A specific enclosed area where the feast takes place
• Assigned table seating with special places of honor or significance

Less Formal Pagan Feasts Generally Include

• “Potluck” style menu where the guests are responsible for bringing or buying the food
• More open seating arrangements or just kind of “eating wherever”
• Less clear definitions of “guest” and “host” roles.

Historically speaking, most of the Feasts we have records of would have been on the more formal to the extremely formal side of the scale. But we have to keep in mind that most of the Feasts that would have been recorded were of political or historical significance. These would have been Feasts that were for upper class people, royalty and these generally had higher stakes for decorum. Alliances were proposed. Trade routes were established. Dynasties were formed. Entire political relationships could depend on the outcome a single meal!

Formal Pagan Feasts aren’t considered “better” or “worse” than informal ones. It just depends on your style and usually the significance of the preceding event (if it’s one of the big Blots like at Yule, Winternights or Sigrblot the feast may be more formal).

What to wear to a Pagan Feast

Some people prefer more “Suited and Booted” style or even “Black Tie” style formality (pretty rare in the Pagan world, but you never know) and other people prefer more “come as you are” or “wear your best jeans and least offensive Black Metal t-shirt” style informality.

The general rule is always ask your hosts if you have questions.

What Metal Band T-Shirts can I wear to the Feast?

The only rule about metal band t-shirts is that you never wear to a concert the t-shirt of the band that you are there to see.

Different Norse Pagan groups have different rules about things like band or graphic t-shirts. Or T-shirts in general.

Just try to keep it not offensive. Like the Cradle of Filth shirt you have? You know the one. You KNOW the one I’m talking about. Don’t wear that. If you wear an NSBM t-shirt prepare to get your called out on it when someone recognizes it. And we will recognize it. There are enough fans of Black Metal in the Norse Pagan community that we know who is who. Don’t test us on this.

NSBM (National-Socialist Black Metal) is not cool and you should be absolutely ashamed to listen to it and you’re the worst kind of person if you went and bought a t-shirt thinking that anyone wanted to see that you listen to that shit.

What is “Garb”?

“Garb” is generally understood in the Pagan community to be any kind of “anachronistic” clothing that looks like it has been styled after what people wore in the Middle Ages.

There is definitely a contingent of Heathens who got their start in the Society for Creative Anachronisms and who spend a lot of time on costume and garb, or just hobbyists who find making clothing gives them fulfillment.

Some hosts enjoy garb and like to see what people can come up with. Some groups actually require certain kinds of hand made attire be worn at their rituals and feasts. Your host will let you know.

Sometimes, a person acting as a Gothi or Priest will be the only one in garb. Think of this as their “holy vestements” and something they only wear if they are performing a ceremony. If you also show up in garb, it could be confusing to people as to what is going on. But Heathens that do wear garb generally take a lot of pride in it, and either have handmade the items themselves or had them hand made by someone special.

What food do you eat at a Heathen Feast?

There is no one kind of food you’ll find at every Heathen feast. Most feasts vary depending on regionality and seasonality. In summertime, you’re more likely to see grilled food or food cooked outdoors. In winter, you’ll find more oven based food like roasts. In the South US, you’re more likely to find food like spicy greens, mac and cheese and biscuits. Up in the Northern US you’ll find things like lefse, lutefisk and meatballs/little smokies inexplicably swimming in a crock pot full of BBQ sauce.

Heathens love variety, locality and secret family recipes

Some Norse Pagans become known for what they bring to the feast. If you are a good homebrewer and you make that known to the community, you will become the guy who brings a keg of beer to every feast. It’s very common for people to be known for and praised for their skill in cooking, grilling, baking or brewing. And with that praise will come expectations to consistently deliver and raise your game. For big feasts and big events, expect Heathens of great skill to try their best to come up with something that will really delight everyone.

Norse Pagans are more like Hobbits than like Vikings and feasting is our opportunity to show off. We love to showcase family recipes or secret recipes for baked goods or other food items. If you like something, it’s absolutely in good taste to tell the person who made it how much you liked it. You can even raise a horn to them in Symbel (later rounds only, please) if you really feel blown away.

Most feasts in our religion are not limited to any one kind of ethnic dish. Not everyone want to eat Lutefisk. Asatruar come from all kinds of different backgrounds and the place where we celebrate that diversity the most is in our feasts. If you are asked to bring something, you should first ask the host what the “big show” is going to be and then base what you’re bringing off of that. Usually the host has something very special planned for the guests.

Can Vegans be Heathen?

While a lot of the food culture surrounding Blot has to do with meat, there are some in the Norse Pagan community that are Vegan, Vegetarian or some variation of restrictive diet. Whether for health or moral reasons, there is nothing explicitly against these practices. You might be hard pressed to find something Vegan at a Heathen feast, though. Meat and dairy products feature heavily on the average Heathen table.

Best to bring an option for oneself, or specify to the Host that you have a dietary restriction. A good host would never want to see you go hungry and would not risk offending or harming you in a place of peace.

Yes, Vegans can be Heathen.

What happens during a Heathen feast?

Symbel

We have an article already about Symbel. Sometimes Symbel begins at the start of the Feast and continues throughout the evening. In some practices Synbel is synonymous with the Feast. Other traditions have Symbel directly after a Feast. In the Norse Pagan community, you’ll see the latter practice more commonly.

Eating, Drinking, Singing, Fun, Games and Frith

Feasting is more than just a meal together, for some of us, it’s a recreation of the ideal state of the world. You’ve come in from the Blot, you’re feeling blessed, and now you’re going to enjoy the good things in life hopefully with friends and family. This is where Frith comes into play. Frith is a very important concept in Heathenry. It’s a sense of an ideal state of relations between people. Where everything feels just right. Not necessarily “cozy” but calm, pleasant and safe.

How long does a Feast last?

Technically? It could go on for days. But usually winds down around midnight. You don’t have to feel obligated to stick around until the wee hours of the morning, unless you want to and your host encourages it. If you’re ever at a Heathen event like Trothmoot it can feel just one very long feast.

The important thing is to enjoy yourself and all the good things life has to offer in a place where you feel safe

That’s really the key of Heathen feasting. It’s about showing hospitality, sharing the abundance and joy of life and just having good times and making great memories with people. If you’re on your way to your first Heathen feast, you’re in for a real treat.

It’ll be a night to remember!