Last Sunday I wrote about panning for gold in the foothills of Idaho, and how I my interest was peaked due to an engagement party for a distant relative. I also had occasion to discuss another topic. It seems that one of the attendees was a Swedish gentleman who had immigrated to the United States permanently nigh on 20 years ago. One of the subjects that came up was Norse Mythology. I have always enjoyed mythology, and know enough to get by, but I decided to dig a little deeper into this particular subject.
Some of you may remember from your childhood comic books depicting Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. This is just one way the myths of ancient Scandinavia have become part of the modern American culture.
Try this one. How many times have you heard the song of "Jack and Jill"? Did you ever wonder where that came from, or what it really meant? Of course with a poem this old - just how old no one knows - interpretations vary, but as far as explanations go I like a Norse version which I found in a book a long time ago. The book, The Utmost Island (Farrar, Straus and young, New York, 1951), author Henry Myers notes that on Lief Ericson's long journey to Vineland (today known as North America) he passes the time telling stories. The one story Myers mentions is of the giants Jøkul and Jill who attempt to steal mead (an adult beverage made with honey) from the Gods. Jøkul was the Moon who's crown is broken as it passes through its waxing and waning. I guess the pilfering happened at night because Jill, the sun "came tumbling after. Leif Ericson lived from circa 970 to c.1120 AD, so you can see how old this is. To give you some perspective, the epic battles fought by Beowulf were put to paper, somewhre between 840 AD and 1200 AD. Hollywood just put out a CGI movie depicting the hero's story in 2007.
What few people realize is that the Norse myths are part of our lives on an almost daily basis. Yep, you guessed it! The days of the week are named after Norse Gods. Monday is Moon day, Tuesday is Tyr's day (Fenrir, the wolf bit off his arm - ouch!), Wednesday is Woden's day, or Odins day (the All-father), Thursday is Thor's day, Friday is Frigg's or Freyr's day (it's the same person, just from different sources), Saturday is for some reason is the only day that was named by the Romans (after Saturn the god of agriculture), and Sunday, of course is after the Sun (or the Son of God, in the Christisan tradition). Some might say that Sigyn, Loki's main squeeze, who is also known as Saeter, may have been the impetus for the use of Saturday. The Roman version makes more sense to me though. Loki was the god of mischief, and was bound with the entrails of his son after he killed Baldr with mistletoe (Ewww!). It gets pretty convoluted the further you get into it - pretty much the way it is with all the myths, but they make great stories.
Do you have any other cultural sayings, traditions, or the like, that have threads stretching through the past? If you do, please share them with the rest of us.
Some of you may remember from your childhood comic books depicting Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. This is just one way the myths of ancient Scandinavia have become part of the modern American culture.
Try this one. How many times have you heard the song of "Jack and Jill"? Did you ever wonder where that came from, or what it really meant? Of course with a poem this old - just how old no one knows - interpretations vary, but as far as explanations go I like a Norse version which I found in a book a long time ago. The book, The Utmost Island (Farrar, Straus and young, New York, 1951), author Henry Myers notes that on Lief Ericson's long journey to Vineland (today known as North America) he passes the time telling stories. The one story Myers mentions is of the giants Jøkul and Jill who attempt to steal mead (an adult beverage made with honey) from the Gods. Jøkul was the Moon who's crown is broken as it passes through its waxing and waning. I guess the pilfering happened at night because Jill, the sun "came tumbling after. Leif Ericson lived from circa 970 to c.1120 AD, so you can see how old this is. To give you some perspective, the epic battles fought by Beowulf were put to paper, somewhre between 840 AD and 1200 AD. Hollywood just put out a CGI movie depicting the hero's story in 2007.
What few people realize is that the Norse myths are part of our lives on an almost daily basis. Yep, you guessed it! The days of the week are named after Norse Gods. Monday is Moon day, Tuesday is Tyr's day (Fenrir, the wolf bit off his arm - ouch!), Wednesday is Woden's day, or Odins day (the All-father), Thursday is Thor's day, Friday is Frigg's or Freyr's day (it's the same person, just from different sources), Saturday is for some reason is the only day that was named by the Romans (after Saturn the god of agriculture), and Sunday, of course is after the Sun (or the Son of God, in the Christisan tradition). Some might say that Sigyn, Loki's main squeeze, who is also known as Saeter, may have been the impetus for the use of Saturday. The Roman version makes more sense to me though. Loki was the god of mischief, and was bound with the entrails of his son after he killed Baldr with mistletoe (Ewww!). It gets pretty convoluted the further you get into it - pretty much the way it is with all the myths, but they make great stories.
Do you have any other cultural sayings, traditions, or the like, that have threads stretching through the past? If you do, please share them with the rest of us.
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