Årsgång

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Årsgång (pronounced [ˈoːʂgɔŋ]; lit. "Year Walk") is an archaic form of Swedish divination.

In Folklore

In a conference paper on the subject, Kuusela[1] described Årsgång as:

A complex form of divination in Swedish folk tradition... The tradition of year walking is predominantly recorded from Southern Sweden, and was usually practised at Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Different regions of Sweden give contrasting explanations for how this was accomplished. From Småland and Blekinge, the year walker was supposed to lock himself up in a dark room, without speaking to anyone nor taste food or drink. At midnight, he (or she) walked to the parish church – or a cluster of different churches – and circled it three times (or more), then he (or she) blew into the church’s key hole. With this the year walker temporarily lost his (or her) Christianity. When this happened, supernatural beings appeared and challenged the year walker. If the walker managed these tests, glimpses of the future could appear; either in vision or by sounds. These could be interpreted as glimpses of what would happen the following year. The phenomena could vary greatly regionally or even in the same district.

Year Walkers should not have seen the light of fire over the same time course. The person should have fasted and express deep earnestness. They did not greet an oncomer, nor did they speak or laugh. If the person saw graves thrown up in the cemetery, it meant that a plague was coming. If they saw small men (dwarves or elves) carry sheaves, or saw the person riding with mice pulling a hay cart, it was thought that one could expect a good harvest. If the person it was hewn in the woods or if they saw armed men riding on the roads, it meant that war should be expected.

If someone (in a regular manner) had gone Year Walking for seven years and on the last night, met a mounted man, who had a 'runkavle' in the mouth, and if the Year Walker was then brave enough and strong enough to snatch this, they became known as "wise". This means that they had gained knowledge of all hidden things and could see into the future, without ever again having to do a Year Walk.

In Småland (in South Sweden), the custom survived and persisted into the early 1800s. Most nights, as better than others appropriate for Year Walking, was Tomasmässonatten, Christmas night, Stefansmässonatten, New Year's Eve and Twelfth Night. Also midsummer night and especially Lucia Night were considered to function in this context. The walk was always closed at any cemetery.

In Popular Culture

Årsgång was the basis for a 2013 adventure video game called Year Walk, developed and published by Simogo for Mac OS X, PC, and iOS devices.[2]

References

  1. Kuusela, T., 2014. Swedish year walk: from folk tradition to computer game. In: Island Dynamics Conference on Folk Belief & Traditions of the Supernatural: Experience, Place, Ritual, & Narrative. Shetland Isles, UK, 24–30 March 2014. [Online]. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6624109/Swedish_Year_Walk._From_Folk_Tradition_to_Computer_Game [accessed 09/07/14].
  2. Priestman, C., 2014. Year Walk Bringing The Supernatural To iOS Devices On February 21st. [Online]. Available at: http://indiestatik.com/2013/02/15/year-walk-bringing-the-supernatural-to-ios-devices-on-february-21st/. [accessed 09/07/14].