14 April: Summer Day,
14 October: Winter Day
The year used to be seen as two separate parts, one half of the year was the Summer part (production period), the other half the Winter part (consumation period). Such a clear separation of the year is only found in Norway and in Iceland, where the Norwegian settlers brought it with them, though the other Nordic countries possibly had the same system.
Summer started on 14 of April, Winter on 14 of October. Each half year in pre-Christian times had its "blot", sacrifice and ritual, these were actually the most important blots of all the blots.
This separation of the year still existed well after Christianity was introduced in Norway, and can be illustrated by people's way of telling the time: "two weeks in winter" means two weeks after Winter Day. People's age would be counted in winters and summers according to what time of the year they were born. The "primstav" (a device for keeping track of the time, holidays, saints' days etc.), a flat, wooden stick, had summer on one side and winter on the other. There were inscibed in runes all the important days that people should remember. This household companion was extremely helpful.
Still today, there are remnants of this old separation. You might hear this joke, for instance, that in Norway there is no summer, but only a green winter following the white winter!
Today, Summer Day is welcomed as the first official summer day - it makes people happy to know this after so many months of snow, darkness and cold weather. And around Winter Day, everybody seems to be more alert to changes in the weather, compare with previous years, and keep account on when the first snow came in relation to Winter Day.
Primstav
The primstav is a perpetual calendar in use before the existence of printed calendars. This was a wooden, flat stick with marks on each side. One side for the summer and one for winter. Summer-side started with the vernal equinox and ended the day before autumnal equinox. The winter-side started with autumnal equinox and ended the day before the vernal equinox.
The Primstav had marks on special days like when a farmer should sow, harvest etc, it had marks for winter solstice and summer solstice. In pre-Christian times, there were marks pertaining to the worship of the norse gods, but later, the primstav was "updated" to reflect Christian saints' days. Most important among these, that are still important today, are Olsok, the day Saint Olav died in 1030, and Sankthans or Jonsok after John the Baptist's birth (Johannes in Norwegian). On both these occasions, big bonfires are being lit - this is a remnant of heden traditions!
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