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Christian celebrations and festivals
Christian celebrations and festivals
Christian celebrations and festivals
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Norse and Celtic religions are the religions that were born in a primal world of chaos where conflict and survival was an everyday struggle. These religions are brutal unlike the religions we have today, these ancient beliefs felt it was necessary to perform sacrificial rituals in order to gain the god's favor. All living things were subject to these sacrifices livestock and humans would have been the most common. Death was something to be embraced in both these ancient religions it was a gateway to the afterlife. Valhalla is the Norse version of the Christian heaven, however Valhalla is quite different. In the Nordic religion in order to get to Valhalla you needed to die a warrior. You could be a sacrifice to the gods in a ritual conducted …show more content…
Then there is Chuchulainn known as the “ hound of ulster” he is refered to as the tough guy as well. Arawn is the god of the dead, Abandius is the god of the sea. Those are the most known celtic deities. Some of them are quite similar to the Nordic gods but some of them are different and there seems to be more insignificant gods within the Celtic religions because there are many of them. However the Celtic version of Valhalla is quite different it is not a hall in which they assisted their god. It is known as Tir na Nog and it is more similar to Christianity's heaven, it is a place of everlasting youth, beauty, health, and joy. Not as much is know about this place as Valhalla however, it is said that the Celtic gods do visit this place and have to pass through either burial mounds or they go through the sea. Each religion held a large gathering in which they would conduct sacrifices to the gods and celebrate their prospective god’s. The Celtic version of this is great gathering of Druids in the territory of the Carnutes in the central Gaul. This gathering would be held every year. While the Nordic people would hold a more common gathering known as a blot where they would sacrifice either food livestock or
The god they worshiped above all gods was Òõinn, who was the head of all gods and is said to be the father of many of the gods (Gunnell 357). The Vikings believe that Òõinn sits in a high chair where he can watch over the whole entire world with his huge eye. They also believe that he is who breathes the first breathe into the first humans. The Vikings say that Òõinn is very popular with the warriors, which the Vikings consider themselves being, but they also mention that they aren’t sure if Òõinn wants those warriors’ dead or alive (Gunnell 358). The reason the Vikings say this because there are stories that mention the warriors alive and dead. The alive warriors are fighting battles for Òõinn and protecting him. The dead warriors are also preparing for a battle, a battle way more intense than the alive warriors ever fought. The battle of Ragnarok, which is the last battle at the end of the world. The Vikings also connect the living and the dead with the factor of Òõinn only having one eye, they believe that he has one living eye and one dead eye (Gunnell
The author of Beowulf presents the same goal to Christianize the pagans through his descriptions of characters. The two major societies presented in Beowulf are the Danes and Geats and they are supposed to completely represent Christianity and just that, however; paganism was seeped into the epic poem purposely by the author. As they have to suffer under Grendel’s constant attacks, the Danes “turn to their heathen gods for help” and “at pagan shrines they vowed offerings to idols, swore oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid” which are all things that Pagans would do (175-177). Because the author has Christian rulers but has them doing what Pagans would do in this same situation his goal in presented. This is exactly what Pagans do, they worship Gods and ask them for materialistic things such as winning wars and battles.
After his death, the memory of Beowulf and his rule could not be forgotten, rather his legacy would grow and become more legendary than it ever was before, “It was their hero’s memorial; what remained from the fire / they housed inside it, behind a wall / as worthy of him as their workmanship could make it.” (trans. 3160-3162). Despite this illustrious and immortalization of his reputation, the death of Beowulf marks a definite turning point in the evolution of the pagan communities. Beowulf was one of the last major pagan kings and exemplified every heroic trait which was held in high esteem, “They said that of all the kings upon the earth / he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, / kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.” (trans. Heaney 3180-3182). The Geats loved Beowulf and even in death they honored him by providing him a large funeral pyre to finally lay to rest. With the burning of Beowulf’s body, the old traditions and beliefs symbolically burn with him, leaving only a clean expanse for a new civilization to be built
The early Pagans did not view death as a bad thing. Death to the Pagans was nothing but a simple transition, and that they would be taken to the otherworld where they would live another life similar to the one they had lived on earth. When they die in the otherworld they believed that they would then again live another life out on earth. It connect with the beliefs that these three goddesses are all related to
What did the afterlife meant to Roman and Norse society? Back in the days, ones afterlife was essential since it set the behavior in ones normal life. While the Romans adapted a similar culture of the Greeks, the Vikings worshiped a pantheon of gods and goddesses, each one representing a different aspect of life.
traditions and practices within Pagan religion. Among these various traditions and practices there are commonly shared beliefs such as respecting all life, the honoring of male and female energies, a Father God and a Mother Goddess and that all things within the universe are interconnected. Pagan religions also share an ethic of self responsibility in doing as you choose, so long as it brings no harm to anyone or anything.Among the first hand accounts of a group of practicing Pagans of varied levels and years of experience, the majority were raised within the teachings of main world religions such as, Catholic, Baptist, Christian and Protestant religions.
Through the writing on Rune Stones Viking women appeared to have followed paganism before the Viking men did.(The Viking woman are thought to have mixed views on Nordic
The location of the Norsemen greatly contributed to their mythology. Situated in Old Scandinavia (what is now parts of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland), they had a deep connection with nature and the seasons. The long, dark winters were bitterly cold, and the rocky and mountainous terrain was unforgiving, especially for poor farmers, giving rise to large cult followings of fertility gods, and gods that controlled the weather, such as Thor, god of Thunder, Wind, and Rain. During the Middle Ages, the Icelandic volcano Hekla, was prone to frequent, violent eruptions (World Mythology). This, along with the contrasting frozen landscape, gave fruit to numerous stories, including those of the creation of the world and the apocalypse. The personalities and values of the Scandinavians, who were considered great warriors and adventurers, or “Vikings,” were reflected in their gods as well. Unlike the beautiful pagan gods of Greece and Rome, the Norse god...
Ancestor veneration is a practice that nearly all animistic peoples, past and present, have shared, and the pre-Christian Norse and other Germanic peoples are certainly no exception. The dead remained in their community’s collective memory long after their passing, and were perceived to confer blessings upon the land and the people they left behind. This may have been especially so if they were properly reverenced by their descendents.[1]
Firstly, the people, the Danes and Geats, in Beowulf live in a seemingly pagan setting but never once do they mention the Gods or even allude to any of the Nordic myths. Instead, every reference to a higher deity is described by the "Ruler, the Judge of Deeds, the Lord God, Protector of Heaven, and the Glorious King." (Beowulf, pg. 29) This distinctly Christian concept of monotheism should be the reader's first point of awareness on what type of story Beowulf actually represents.
On the surface, pagan culture and Christianity would appear to have very little in common. Traditionally, the Hellenistic pagan cultures worshipped multiple deities; the central of which were the twelve Olympians of the Greek Pantheon. Lesser divine beings and demi-humans also played a significant role in the Hellenistic culture. The worship of these deities was the mainstream of religion during the Hellenistic period until the rise of the great philosophers.
Christian beliefs are shown throughout Beowulf to protect the people. Sang about the origin of the world and the glory of the “Almighty, who made them and everything they saw. “(chapter1.). Paganism was also a big part of Beowulf even though they had christian beliefs but in times of fear they would pray to the pagan gods.“They even made offerings to pagan gods and asked devils to come to their aid.” (ch.2).
The Celts also had little religious unity. While the Celts had hundreds of gods and goddesses, they only had approximately 33 primary deities, which were shared among the groups. The Irish Celtic oath “I swear by the gods my people swear by” (Jestice), exemplifies the strong local loyalty of the Celtic peoples to each other. Though primarily an Irish Celtic deity, Brigid was worshiped all over the Celtic world and through this she brings a sort of unity to the Celtic world, as all agree that she is to be revered
The Asatru is a religion that was prominent in northern European countries known today as Scandinavia, England Germany, France, the Netherlands, and other countries, long before christianity was introduced. Asatru, according to the Old Norse, language of ancient Scandinavia, means “belief in Gods.” Asatruars are Asatru worshippers, members, or believers. They were mostly the vikings, various Germanic tribes and the Norsemen. According to Susan Granquist (1997), Asatru is “a folk religion, with credibility for those in leadership positions being gained by demonstrated ability, knowledge and respect, in much the same way that in other ethnic religions or groups tribal elders are recognized” (2). In Asatru recognition is gained through demonstrated
Before the time of Christianity, Paganism was the world’s primary religion. Paganism holds many branches of Polytheistic religions that were practiced all around the world. Polytheism is the belief in multiple gods and goddesses, each one having a specific element to rule over. In the time of the Celts, religion was a very important thing; they turned to it for whatever they needed and prayed to the god or goddess that could grant them what they wanted. The Celtic form of paganism was a nature based religion that was extremely spiritual. Celtic pagans worshiped the world around them and gave thanks to the earth for what it gave them. One major aspect of the Celtic religion was that they believed that everything had an energy or