Telling Time without a Clock: Scandinavian Daymarks

"Very far north (or south) of the equator, however, the difference between the length of  daylight time in the summer is very much greater than in the winter. In parts of Scandinavia above the Arctic Circle (at a latitude of 66.5° North) the Sun does not set at all for part of the summer--it is daylight all the time. On the other hand, for part of the winter the Sun does not rise in these same areas. Obviously there is no point in dividing the daytime or nighttime into twelve sections if they are not taking place! Even if the Sun sets for only three of our modern hours in the summer, if one is dividing the daytime and nighttime into Babylonian/Egyptian-style "temporal hours", the nighttime hours will be so short compared to the daytime hours that there is hardly any point in making the divisions.

However, even very far north (or south), no matter where the Sun rises or sets, the middle of its path is above about the same part of the horizon. That means you can always tell when the middle of the day is if you know above which point on the horizon the highest point of the Sun's path is. Also, no matter how high the Sun is above the horizon, it always passes over the same points on the horizon after the same interval of time. Using these facts, the people living in Scandinavia developed a system of time-keeping quite different than the Babylonian/Egyptian system."

The full text of this highly detailed and informative article, courtesy of Harvard University, may be found here.

Scottish Nationalist Party plans closer Scandinavian ties after independence

"An independent Scotland would shift much of its attention away from the UK to become a member of the Scandinavian circle of countries, with its own army, navy and air force modelled on its Nordic neighbours, according to detailed plans being drawn up by the SNP." Not surprising, as while much of Scottish language and culture is Gaelic in nature, the country has a long history of Nordic influences. Read the full article at the Independent.

Yule and Christmas: their place in the Germanic year

From the preface: "This book treats of the problems connected with the Germanic year - the three-score-day tide of Yule, the Germanic adoption of the Roman calendar, and the introduction of the festival of Christ's Nativity into a part of the German year, which til then had apparently been without a festivity. It traces the revolution brought about by these events, in custom, belief, and legend up to the fourteenth century. By that time, the Author believes, most of the fundamental features which go towards the making of modern Christmas had already come to have their centre in the 25th day of December."

Written in 1899, this book by Alexander Tille is available in a digitized version at Google Books.  Though focusing largely on Germany, Tille also devotes two chapters to Scandinavian customs regarding Yule and the Midvinterblot.