Today, the Norwegians think of the year in terms of 4 main seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. However, the old Norwegian working calendar divided the year into two equal halves: summer and winter.
The summer started on 14 April, on what the old Norwegians called sommermål, sommerdag, or sommernatt. The first day of winter was 14 October, called vintermål, vinterdag, or vinternatt.
Midsummer’s Eve fell on 13 July – and Midwinter’s Eve on 13 January (some sources say 12 January).
The Norwegian winters are dark and cold, with the ground often frozen solid and covered with snow. Therefore, the farmers had to sow, gather, and harvest enough food during an intense summer, to tide both people and farm-animals over the winter.
NRO.A.3.01