Torlaksmesse
Torlaksmesse or Thorlakmesse also Tollesmesse and Sjursmesse , as well as in Icelandic : Þorláksmessa , in Faroese Tollaksmessa , also in Swedish and Norwegian as Lilla julafton or Lille julaften (in German : little Christmas or pre- Christmas festival ), is a Scandinavian Christmas custom that denotes a day before Christmas , on December 23rd, in Norway , Iceland , the Faroe Islands and, since the 18th century, in Sweden too .
history
In memory of the Icelandic bishop Thorlak Thorhallson ( Þorlákur Þórhallsson ) (1133–1193), his feast is celebrated every year on December 23 as a little Christmas or pre-Christmas festival.
The day is named after the Icelandic bishop Thorlak, who was already venerated like a saint in Iceland, in western and northern Norway. The day of his death, December 23rd, was declared a public holiday the following year at the Althing in Iceland, where he has been commemorated ever since, from which today's Torlaks Mass holiday developed. There was no papal confirmation of the canonization . On January 14, 1984, Pope John Paul II confirmed Thorlak Thorhallson as the patron saint of Iceland.
The Torlaksmesse emerged from a mixture of former pagan customs and the then newly emerging Christianity in Scandinavia. By tidying up and cleaning up before Christmas, one thought to be able to drive away evil spirits and powers from one's personal environment. According to tradition it was also believed earlier if there was a rush to Torlaksmesstag, so you could expect it also to Candlemas , that on February 2 of next year, stormed. In the Norwegian provinces of Trøndelag and Nordland , the day is also known as Sjursmesse .
regional customs
On Torlaksmesstag (Tollesmessdagen) you prepare a clean house and a fresh bed of straw, or today a freshly made bed. You also wash yourself and prepare neat, clean clothes for the big Christmas party. It is customary in Scandinavia to make these preparations late into the night. The Torlaksmesstag is still used today to thoroughly clean the house or apartment and to prepare for Christmas. This is how the last Christmas preparations are made in the family area, such as B. the baking of Christmas cookies and the preparation of the Christmas dinner, the festive decorating of the apartment and the Christmas tree. In Iceland, but also partly in the Faroe Islands and Norway, it is customary to eat a special fish dish on this day, the last day of fasting before Christmas .
Web links
- Torlaksmesse in the Norske Leksikon store
- Torlaksmesse on December 23rd on robenel.com
- Torlaksmesse on trollheimsporten.no
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ekkart Sauser : Thorlak Thorhallsson. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , Sp. 1373. Saga Biskupsstólanna. Hólar 2006. pp. 32-33.
- ↑ H. Bekker-Nielsen: THORLÁK THÓRHALLSSON, ST. In: New Catholic Encyclopedia , Vol. 14, 59f.
- ↑ a b http://www.robenel.com/cal23.htm ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.trollheimsporten.no/riktig-god-lille-juleaften-og-torlaksmesse.4740917-152122.html
- ↑ http://www.iceland.de/index.php?id=1631
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ralf Quibeldey: Iceland: Vikings Christmas. In: Spiegel Online . December 24, 2004, accessed June 10, 2018 .
