Midvinterblot by Carl Larsson.
Blót is a ritual ceremony in Germanic/Norse paganism. The word blót means "blood offerings" or "worship" in Old Norse.
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Dísablót was dedicated to the dísir and the valkyrjur to enhance the coming harvest.
A blót can be dedicated to any god, to the spirits of the land and to forefathers. The ritual of a blót took in the forms of a sacramental meal or feast. The offerings for the ritual were usually animals, especially pigs and horses. The meat for the offerings and feast would be boiled inside enormous cooking pots. And the blood of the animals would be sprayed on the statues of the gods, on the people, and round the wall. This part was believed to serve to preserve the magic and the power. Everyone would sit round the cooking pots and tried the meals, since they believed eating on such occasions meant they were feasting with the gods. The drinks were also considered as sacred and blessed along with the foods. Ale and mead were mostly passed round as the drinks, but sometimes the imported wine would also served if the nobles were in the feast table.
A building where the blót held was called hov.
The Germanic people performed the blót in four specific seasons: during the middle of October, beginning of the winter, great midwinter and summer. Amongst the most important and well-known blót is Jól which was held in the great midwinter and is the origin of Christmas in today.
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- Viking Ritual: What is A Blót? - BaviPower
- The Viking blót sacrifices - National Museum of Denmark
- Viking Archaeology - Tissø
- Blót - Forn Kunskap
- HOW TO BLÓT ? – THE BASICS - WHISPERS OF YGGDRASIL