Thursday 24 December 2015

The True Sorry of Christmas and its Viking Past . . . A tale for Christmas Eve



Back in the days of the early Vikings when their kingdom was large and they were feared by all across Europe there was a one particularly famous Viking warrior called Sven Antason. He was known to be fearless in battle and would always lead his fighters into every fight from the front because he completely trusted the Great Norse Gods knowing they would protect him.  The Vikings lords of the day would always call Sven for help in their battles and he would always do so, as a loyal and proud Viking warrior. Sven Antason however was a solitary soul and lived in the frozen tundra, north of the Arctic Circle and during the long dark winters Sven and his team of reindeer would often cross the snow covered wastelands as he headed off to yet another battle, observed only by the Great Norse Gods as no one else lived in this hostile environment over winter.

But as time passed Sven got older and was not seen as the warrior he used to be, and so the Viking lords called on his assistance less and less, trusting the fighting spirit of younger men. But Sven Antason would still go out in the middle of winter and thunder through the frozen snow covered tundra on this sleigh pulled by his trusty reindeer where he would help and save people lost in the bitter dark and unforgiving cold, wind and snow. In fact stories of how Sven Antason would turn up to save travellers started to become common turning Sven into something of a legend among the Vikings. And he would often give strangers food and warm clothing in order that they could continue their journey something that was much appreciated by those he helped; leading to his growing reputation as a kind and wise man.

But as time passed as it does Sven grew older still and it became harder and harder for him to venture out into the wild and eventually he knew the days when he could battle through the worst of the winter weather were numbered. So as another winter reached it coldest and darkest and a bitter blizzard blow through the landscape he decided it was time to take his sleigh and reindeer our for one final run and place his destiny in the hands of the Great Norse Gods as he had always done.  The Gods of course liked Sven Antason and so they told Sven that it was time for him to be at peace, but that once a year on the darkest and wildest day of winter he can travel many journeys on his sleigh pulled by his trusty team of reindeer with all strength he had in his younger days. This was so Sven could show all the wisdom of maintaining faith in the Gods and yourself.

Well as we know Modern religion in not keen on the old Gods of mankind, particularly the Great Norse Gods and so modern Christianity has sneakily changed and adapted the story of Sven Antason to be rather more Christian. Which means that Sven Antason is now known now as Santa and rather than a brave and noble Viking, he is said to be a friendly old chap in a Red Outfit.  This is not something that the Great Norse Gods or Sven worry about because as parents and folk sneak presents under Christmas trees in the warm of the homes;  out in the wilds, North of the Arctic Circle Sven Antason and his reindeer will be speeding through the snow as they do every year.



And so there you have it Santa is entirely real only he is a old Viking warrior called Sven Antason protected by the Great Norse Gods of Old. And that is the true story of Christmas. . . . . . . sort of 

8 comments:

  1. Now THAT'S a Christmas tale! Got the warm and the fuzzies just reading that Mr Z. but that could also be heartburn.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours Mr Z!

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    1. Thanks Miss Lily I thought what we need is a tale of Christmas that will allow Santa to still be Santa even in this age of modern consumerism and hard sell.

      And I hope you and the Lilman have a great day with the family even though you were planning to kill them off. . . .

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  2. Merry Christmas! I will come back and read your post when my headache is gone.

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    1. I hope you are feeling better soon Mr ESB. . . I hope you have a good break and chill for a couple of days.

      We have a rather poorly cat at present so the cat is on our bed having a very long sleep. So we are being quiet and peaceful so the cat can recover.

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    2. With him being a Viking warrior, then it would make sense for him to have a bloody red outfit. I noticed that the 2nd sentence of the 3rd paragraph has 'sledge' instead of 'sleigh', so I was minorly confused.

      I hope your cat is feeling better. My Cooper is a bit sick, wheezy. I saw your comment over at my blog today. It is rather quiet with both dogs asleep.

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    3. I will turn sledge into sleigh in the true spirit of Christmas

      The cat is a worry he is one of the nicest cats we have ever had, but he eats some strange plants at times in the garden so it has always been a worry that one day he would eat something he really should not. it is also very peaceful here at present.

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    4. Oh, so the sledge was s'pposed to be sleigh. I didn't know a sledge was a kind of sleigh, so I learned something today. It is almost 9 PM cheese time here. I think the new dog is figuring out the cricket noise alarm on my phone for it.

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    5. I am curious about the link of cheese and crickets.

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