Mōdraniht, or Modranicht, “Night of the Mothers”, was a holy day observed by the pagan Anglo Saxons. (Thread) Pic: a Romano-Germanic altar to the Mothers, from the Cologne Museum.

According to Bede, it was celebrated “the year on the 8th calends of January, when we celebrate the birth of the Lord.”, which would have been the 25th of December. Bede suspected sacrifices were held on this night.

One possibility is it may have been the Anglo Saxon equivalent of Dísablót, which was held before Jól in Scandinavia. It’s likely that it was connected to the worship of the Matres and Matronae (Mothers and Matrons).

The Matres and Matronae are known from several altars across England, Germany and France, depicting three women; reminiscent of the Norns. Several altars depict them with headdresses characteristic of the Ubii, a Germanic tribe that lived along the Rhine,

pointing to a Romano-Germanic origin. A few altars are inscribed with “Matronis Gabiabus”, the “giving mothers”. This also fits with Old Norse Gefn, an epithet of Freyja, meaning “She who gives”, and Gefjon.

A few of these altars appeared in Roman camps, and one near Hadrian’s Wall, possibly made by Germanic auxiliaries. Their placement around military sites suggests that the Mothers were not mere fertility deities, but also protectors, spinning the fates of the soldiers.

Three goddesses ruling fate is recurring in Indo European religions; for example, the Norns, the Moirai, Parcae, Hekate, and the Sudička. The Slavic Sudička and Greek Moirai spin a thread as they foretell the child’s life, cutting it when the life will end.

New parents would leave out offerings of food for the Sudička, hoping they would make favourable predictions. While Mōdraniht is a more challenging one to recreate due to fragmentary knowledge, it can still be observed today. ᛉ