Time of Thorn/Feast day of King Olaf II

Around this time, ancient Northern Tradition honours the god whom the Anglo-Saxons called Thunor and the Norse, Thor. The time of Thorn, as it is known, is a period of proper order and higher powers. This day also honours the sainted Norwegian king, Olaf, murdered around Lammas Day (an ancient festival on August 1, a time when other European kings of old were allegedly murdered, but in fact relates to harvest magic).

Traditionally it was portrayed on calendars with the sign of the axe.

The letter 'thorn' in the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic alphabets, pronounced 'th', could sometimes be shaped like the letter 'y', which explains why sometimes the word 'the' appeared to be written 'ye', as in 'ye olde English tea shoppe'.

Categories: anglo-saxon, calendar-customs, iceland, uk, language, english, deity, saint