Nothern Lights

16th April 2024

Today we know the science behind the Northern Lights. But imagine gazing up at the phenomena of green, red, and purple lights flickering across the sky and not knowing what they are. It’s no wonder the aurora borealis have influenced folklore and legends through the ages.

The Northern Lights have inspired some of the most dramatic tales in Norse mythology. The Vikings celebrated the lights, believing they were earthly manifestations of their gods. Other Norse people feared them, telling stories of the dangers they posed and developing superstitions to protect themselves.

Whichever fantastical tale captures your imagination, one thing is certain: the Northern Lights were assigned great power and significance by the peoples of ancient Nordic societies. Whether a harbinger of good or evil, the lights were as magical and revered as they continue to be today.

Many of the stories surrounding the Northern Lights in North American communities arose from the belief that they were the souls of departed ancestors.

It was even thought that the lights might be the spirits of the animals they hunted. But not all North American legends painted the Northern Lights as quite so benevolent.



The circle of life

Some Native American stories depict the Northern Lights as torches held by spirits who were tasked with leading the souls of the recently deceased over the abyss to the land of brightness and plenty. To communicate with people on Earth, they believed the Northern Lights made a whistling sound, which was to be answered by humans with whispers.

Eskimo tribes believed they could summon the Aurora to converse with their dead relatives. Cree Indians believed strongly in the ‘circle of life’. They also believed the lights were a way of communicating with their ancestors, and when dogs barked at the lights, it was because they recognized their lost companions.

In Canada and northern Michigan, the Algonquin tribes believed the creator of the Earth, Nanabozho, moved to the far north and lit a huge fire to let his people know that even though he was far away, he was still thinking of them. The aurora was a reflection of this fire.

The Menominee Indians of Wisconsin believed what they saw were gentle giants fishing at night, and that the lights were created by their torches as they fished.

The Inuits of northern Greenland believed the lights were the spirits of the dead playing celestial games with a walrus skull, though other local Inuit communities believed it was the walruses playing games with a human skull.

This post is a part of the #BlogchatterAtoZ challenge.