12th Night

 Tonight is 12th night. It is a celebration of all the godesses and gods. A meal of ham or pork is served. The mead is broken open and a pot of wassail is put on the fire. 

It is also a time for beginnings and endings. 

On the 11th Night of Yuletide...

 This 11th day of Yuletide celebrates Valkyries and warriors.  Armed with a spear, these ladies served Odin and rode on horseback into battle. She is tasked with choosing worthy warriors from the battlefields to join the gods in the afterlife. 

The idea of how angels might look may have originated in the versions of Valkyries. But Valkyries are goddesses, daughters of Odin. 

On the Tenth day of Yuletide...

 On this tenth day of Yuletide, tribute is paid to the sun goddess, Sunna. She becomes stronger and stronger with each day and shines longer and longer until the the summer solstice. 

The Second Day of Yuletide ...

The second day of Yule is a day of hearth and home.