The Wilde Irish Solstice

He replied, "I have three more families to visit, so I must be off. Let me know when you have the wedding."

Håkon climbed aboard his wagon, turned it around in a wide arc, and headed to the next farm. Éamonn, Mary, and I went back into the cottage. Éamonn left the door unlatched, so that the travelers, Mary and Joseph, could enter and be welcomed.

We exchanged gifts. I gave Éamonn the bow I had made for him, and Mary a copper broche. Mary gave Éamonn a new shirt she had sewn, and me a wool sweater she had somehow managed to knit without my seeing it.

Éamonn and Mary both retrieved a small, wrapped item, and I suspected they had prepared gifts for me as well. When I opened them, they were two small goat figures, fashioned out of straw, a few sheaths of wheat, and red ribbon. I knew immediately what they were, and suspected Håkon was involved. These were Yule goats, a powerful symbol of the Yule season. The God Thor rides across the sky in a chariot pulled by a pair of flying goats. Éamonn would have saved the last sheaf of harvested wheat, with its magical properties, and from it, he and Mary made the two goats. Such a wonderful Yule gift!

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Chapter 7 - Christmas Day

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I arose the next day to the sounds of Mary working by the hearth. Éamonn woke as well. Off in the distance, we heard a cow horn being blown. Eamon said it meant we must go. I put on the sweater Mary had knitted for me, and Éamonn and Mary put on their coats.

We walked to a gathering of people near a large bonfire. As we moved closer, I saw a small wooden structure resembling a stable. In it were figures of a man and woman, standing over a small water trough. Within the trough was a small doll. A man near the fire started speaking. I did not know Irish well enough to follow, but Éamonn helped. The man told us the story of a birth in a foreign land, of a savior for the entire world. I wondered how such a thing was possible, but looking at the many people around me, I decided I should learn more.

When the man stopped speaking, the people passed by the wooden stable, and took a piece of straw. Éamonn said that the straw was for luck, and we should keep it safe until next year. We walked back toward the cottage, but as we neared, Éamonn led us in a different direction, passing by the edge of the woodland as we moved southeast toward the morning sun.

Éamonn and Mary stopped near two stones. Éamonn said these were his and Mary's parents. They were much simpler than the burial mounds we have in Norway. Éamonn and Mary knelt. They did not speak aloud, but I saw them concentrating as if they were silently speaking to the spirits of their parents. I thought this an appropriate time for them to visit, as the veils between the mortal and spirit worlds were at their thinnest during the solstice.

Mary was crying as she stood up. I took her hand as the three of us walked back to the cottage. When we arrived at the cottage, we passed by the rooster, and I smiled. He had escaped his meeting with Éamonn's axe, at least for this year, and that meant new chicks next spring. Mary immediately set to work preparing the feast, and I helped where I could.

With the food Håkon brought, and Éamonn's new bow, I knew we would make it through to spring. As I thought about the past week, I realized, more than anything else, the greatest gift was being together under one roof with people you love, to celebrate the Solstice and Christmas. I looked forward to our future together, especially since both our Norwegian and Irish celebrations were about hope and renewal.

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Chapter 8 - Present Day

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There was a knock on the door of my Dublin flat. I looked out the peep hole and saw a well dressed woman in her mid-thirties, an older bearded man in a tweed jacket, and a scruffy-looking younger man behind them. It was Christmas Eve, and they didn't look like bleedin' bill collectors, so when they knocked again, I opened the door.

I asked, "Howya, what's the story?"

The woman gasped and blurted out, "It's her!"

I should have kept the door closed. "All right, ye found me. It's been a slow week at the pub right before Christmas, and my tips are down. People are out shopping or spending time with their families. I don 't got no money, but come back Saturday, and I'll give ye what I owe ye."

"No, Eabha. My name is Gwenda Carlson from the Oslo Viking Heritage Foundation, and this is Professor Kendrick from the University of Scotland. We have something we want to show you."

Gwenda pulled a photograph from a folder she was carrying and showed it to me. The style of the blonde hair was different, but it was a photograph of me!

"Go away outta that!" I said in disbelief. "Where'd ye get that?"

The Professor replied with a Scottish accent, "Our research team created it, from a thousand-year-old grave site uncovered just north of Wexford. We took DNA samples from a tooth and arm of both skeletons, and discovered that one of them had no Y chromosomes. Thus, one was a man, and the other a woman. This is a 3-D reconstruction of what the woman in the grave looked like."

I was stunned. "Stall it. How do you know my name?"

The professor continued, "There were two bodies in the grave, Eabha, and both were buried with swords. It's very unusual to find a woman buried with a sword, and what is more, it was a Viking sword. We exhumed the bodies to do further DNA testing and learned the man was Irish, and the woman was Norwegian. Both were about fifty years old, a remarkable achievement for that time. We checked their DNA combination and genetic markers against a modern database, and found a match. You! There is an 86% probability that they were your ancestors."

I shook my head, "No way!"

Gwenda said, "The gravesite was discovered by a housing developer on the southeast side of a woodland. Because of the historical significance of the find, my Foundation purchased the entire farm and all rights. We found the ruins of an old cottage, three other ancient graves, a few Viking-era artifacts, and a few things you may be interested in."

"Like?" I questioned.

The professor handed Gwenda a small box and she opened it. "First, this small gold cross on a thin gold chain. One was found on both bodies. Inter-marriage between the Vikings and Irish was common, and this would indicate that the woman had converted to Christianity."

Gwenda handed it to me, and I looked at it. It was in perfect condition, so I slipped it over my head.

"Next, we have this silver Fede ring. It is quite old, and shows two hands clasped together in friendship. It is an older version of the Claddagh rings we see today. We aren't sure of the significance, but each wore one."

Likewise, she gave me the tarnished silver ring and I slipped it onto my finger.

"The final thing is this gold Viking-age coin. We found this lone gold coin in a hoard of many silver coins, buried on the farm."

Gwenda handed it to me. The coin still had its shining luster. I held it up in disbelief.

"I guess ye be wanting this back?" I asked.

"No, Eabha. We estimated the entire hoard to be worth over two million Euros, but the foundation does not need the money. In fact, because the farm no longer has any historical significance, we won't be needing it either. As an heir to the original occupants, the Board of the Foundation voted to give both the hoard and the farm to you."

I was shocked, "The whole bleedin' hoard and the entire farm?"

Gwenda replied, "Well, no." She pulled a second photo out of her folder. "You will get half, and the man in this photo will get the other half." The photo showed a thin man with handsome face, and scruffy hair.

Gwenda then turned to the young man standing behind her and he stepped forward. "I would like you to meet Callum. Callum has a similar DNA profile with an 84% probability of a match, and we are giving him the other half."

Looking closer, I instantly saw a resemblance to the photo. Callum was also wearing a gold cross just like mine around his neck. As he reached out his hand, I took it, and noticed the same silver Fede ring on his finger. We shook hands, and I wondered if the same handshake took place a thousand years ago.

Callum said, "Pleased to meet you, Eabha. I know it's Christmas Day tomorrow, but I asked the Foundation if they would re-inter the two bodies tomorrow, and they agreed. I hope you can join us. It is an old Irish tradition to visit the graves of ancestors on Christmas morning, and I thought we should be there as they return to their eternal peace."

That was sweet. "I would like that, and to learn more about them," I replied.

Gwenda said, "How about 10:00 tomorrow? We'll pick you up and take you and Callum to the farm."

The few friends I had were going to be with their families or their boyfriends, neither of which I had in Dublin. With nothing else to look forward to on Christmas Day, I replied, "That sounds perfect."

Gwenda and the professor excused themselves, but Callum lingered. "How about we go to the pub for a pint, and talk about our future? My treat!"

I glanced back at my flat. The disarrayed mess, a few worthless possessions, and nothing but loneliness. There was no future for me here.

I nodded, then Callum reached out his hand. I took it, and we held hands as we walked towards the pub.

"If you're not busy after the ceremony tomorrow, I would like to invite you to Christmas Dinner at my sister's farm. Her name is Mary Gunnarsen and she lives with her husband near where we will be tomorrow. She has a truly kind heart, and is out visiting neighbors today. It's a family tradition on Christmas Eve to check on the poor and elderly, and bring them food baskets and gifts. My sister goes all out to celebrate the Winter Solstice and Christmas, and has had a big Yule Log burning for the last few days, along with springs of holly everywhere, and candles in every window..."

HAPPY YULE!

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Author's Notes

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Many of today's Christmas traditions began in Norway or Ireland. Did any of the ones mentioned in this story surprise you?

And, as always, if you enjoyed this story, or any of the other Winter Holidays Story Contest 2023 stories, please leave a comment, a vote, or both. Those are gifts for every author and inspire us to write even more stories for you to enjoy.