Teaching Kids History and Mythology with Crafts
In the shadowy depths of Norse mythology, where gods and giants clash, and worlds hang from the branches of the great World Tree Yggdrasil, there lurks a creature of ancient dread and insatiable hunger—Nidhogg. The Dark Roots of Yggdrasil Yggdrasil is a colossal ash tree that connects the Nine Realms of the Norse world, stretching […]
In the story of Norse mythology, where gods and goddesses rule the skies and earth, there is one deity whose gifts control the magic of winter. Ullr is the magnificent god of snow, skiing, snowshoes, and hunting bows. The Vikings who lived through the cold, dark, snowy winters of Northern Europe needed a god who […]
Idunn’s Apple: A Fall Mythology Craft Fall is the harvest season and apples are everywhere. From candy apples to bobbing for apples, this fruit can be found all over the world in the fall and early winter. But where exactly did it come from? The History of Apples Apples probably originated in Asia when paleolithic […]
What is the Viking Rune? “Runes Bag” by Nathaniel_U is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 First of all there is no such thing as a Viking Rune, they are actually Norse Runes. You see Vikings are just a subgroup of Norsemen who turned pirate raider. Now that we got that out of the way, it […]
Viking Honey Mead Photo by Gigi on Unsplash In the Viking Age, honey mead was a fermented (alcoholic) drink that was served at special occasions. You can imagine Vikings in the great mead halls in the dead of winter celebrating the Yule with a few “horns” full of mead. Yes, it seems that Vikings did […]
Thor’s Yule Goat ? A popular Christmas holiday decoration found in Scandinavian countries, the straw Yule Goat has interesting origins. So What’s a Yule Goat? Today, possibly most famous Yule Goat can be found in the Swedish town of Gavle. This goat is put up yearly and is almost 40 feet high! Originally erected in […]
Thor’s hammer is actually named Mjolnir (muel-near). This special weapon belongs to one of the main Norse Gods, Thor. He is the god of lightning and thunder. In fact, he is so famous that Thursday is actually named for him–you can think of it as “Thor’s Day”. The hammer is one of the most important […]