Category: Viking

Up-Helly-Aa

Published January 20, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Fire, HOLIDAYS, Parades, Scottish, Viking, Winter | Comments [0]
Scene from a video posted on YouTube by Gary13579, showing the burning galley at the 2006 Up-Helly-Aa festival: If you’d like to dress as a Viking, carry a burning torch in a procession through villages and towns, and then throw the torch into a replica of a Viking longship to set it alight before sending it [...] Read More »

Yuletide: The Viking Origins of Santa Claus

Published December 9, 2006 in British, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Christmas Traditions, Death, German, HOLIDAYS, Lanterns and Lights, Norwegian, Scandinavian, Viking, Winter | Comments [0]
The word “yuletide,” referring to the Christmas season, was passed to the British through the Vikings. The word originated with the Viking god Odin, whose persona associated with the month of December was Jul, and the month of December was called “Jultid.” The Vikings believed that Odin would come to earth during the [...] Read More »