and led by its mistress. Not much is known about these rites, since they were surrounded by secrecy and strangers were not welcome during the time of the rituals. However, since the elves were collective powers closely connected with the ancestors some assume that it had to do with the ancestor cult and the life force of the family. Dísablót Blōtmōnaþ:In the early Anglo-Saxon period, November was known as Blōtmōnaþ, when cattle were offered to the gods. During winter Yule, an important sacrifice celebrated some time after Winter solstice. When Christianity arrived in Scandinavia the yuleblót (or winterblót) was celebrated on 12 January (note: Date as of the previous Julian calendar. Hence it is not on 12 January in the current calendar.) Þorrablót (Iceland) Freyr blot (Sweden): The Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta has an account of a priestess of Freyr travelling across eastern Sweden (Uppland or Södermanland) with an image of the god in wintertime, celebrating a sacrifice for fertility. Spring Dísablót Midsummer The Icelandic festival, Jónsmessa (St John's Mass), or Midsummer Night, celebrated on 24 June near the summer solstice, is mentioned in Ágrip, a late 12th-century history of the kings of Norway written in Old Norse. It says in chapter 19 that King Óláfr Tryggvason: Sigrblót: the Ynglinga saga states one of the great festivals of the calendar is at sumri, þat var sigrblót "in summer, for victory". An offering was given to Odin, and then the celebrants drank for victory in war; this blót was the starting date for Viking expeditions and wars. Post-Christianisation period In Scandinavian Yule or Christmas traditions in particular, such as the Christmas porridge, of which an extra bowl often is served and carried outdoors, because this is a meal shared with the guardian of the homestead, the tomte (nisse in Danish and Norwegian, tonttu in Finnish), a land wight. The Þorrablót is an Icelandic tradition introduced in the 19th century, deliberately harking back to the term blót associated with pre-Christian times. The blót at Yule may be the origin of the Orcadian practice recorded in the 18th century by which each family in Sandwick that rears pigs would slaughter one sow on the 17th of December which was known as Sow Day. A similar practice is recorded in the 19th century in which each household on North Ronaldsay slaughtered a sheep known as the Yule sheep on Christmas Eve. Reconstructionist adherents