So the guys in Streakèrs needed a little distraction for the Lich King.
I fit that description.
Too well.
I’m kind of Valkyrie bait.
I have seen the Lich King now…
From both a distance and up close and personal.
I saw his light on, thought I’d drop in…
… and he showed me the back door.
Ahh well, there is always tomorrow…
Santa Claus is coming to my home?
Yeah, completely off topic…
Odin and I were having a discussion this morning on the way to kinder. He was trying to clarify if he WAS Odin (a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard), or was named after Odin.
I was trying to explain that we named him after Odin in the hope that he gained some of the characteristics attributed to Odin, like wisdom, love for poetry/literature, strength, way with the ladies, ummm yeah.. anyway…
So while doing a bit of iPhone based research on wikipedia, I stumbled across something that stopped me in my tracks…
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, a jolly old fat man with a long white beard who is said to distribute presents to good children on Christmas Eve, is largely based on Odin, merged with the Christian legend of Saint Nicholas of Myra.[16] Christmas itself and most of its traditions in Germanic countries derive from the pagan winter solstice holiday Yule.
Odin was recorded as leading a great Yule hunting party through the sky.[17] Two books from Iceland, the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, describe Odin as riding an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir that could leap great distances, giving rise to comparisons to Santa Claus’s reindeer.[18] Further, Odin was referred to by many names in Skaldic poetry, some of which describe his appearance or functions; these include Síðgrani,[19] Síðskeggr,[20] Langbarðr,[21] (all meaning “long beard”) and Jólnir[22] (“Yule figure”).
According to Phyllis Siefker, children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir’s food with gifts or candy. This practice, she claims, survived in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas as a result of the process of Christianization and can be still seen in the modern practice of the hanging of stockings at the chimney in some homes.[23]
My Odin however was not convinced… he is just Santa’s little helper. You see, we have been reading one of those < insert name here > Christmas books to him since his 1st Christmas, and he is convinced that he is Santa’s little helper, but Santa just keeps missing him (poor little bugger).
This lead to a bit of an incident at the Myer Christmas Parade, where when Santa didn’t acknowledge him, Daddy had to run 1/2 way down Bourke St chasing the parade float, with Odin on his shoulders, to get Santa’s attention to correct his mistake.
Santa did, 2 big thumbs up… Odin was more than satisfied.
Daddy was pretty happy too, as Jennifer Hawkins, acknowledged our presence with
Oh he’s so cute
Me, yes me, know she was referring to me of course… (wouldn’t be Odin… surely)
If you don’t know who Jennifer Hawkins is… click on Santa’s sleigh to see his angelic helper.
Yeah, anyway.. as if it wasn’t bad enough that I was the father of, and lived with a Odin in a child’s body… turns out now I live with Santa Claus…
and people think I’m crazy for rolling a Gnome.
Gnomer and Out!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/12/04/a-dead-gnome-is-better-than-none/
PS: You can still learn from, or give to Movember!
You can give via Visa, Mastercard, Amex or Paypal.
Paypal, perfect for those abstained coffee donations
Go on.. wouldn’t you buy a coffee to keep someone alive?
i’m gearing up for an annual santa claus costumed pub crawl, and my outfit for several years now has been the “old world” santa outfit with the robe, wreath of holly on the head, a staff, etc… somehow, i never made the ODIN connection, let alone the “treats in boots”/stockings one. i love it! timely info, as always. thank you!
Consider it my Christmas present to you
I’m a bit envious.. would love a pub crawl right now, especially since my work just postponed our Christmas parties.
Alas, I doubt Odin would be able to keep up (my Odin that is, I’m sure the real Odin would do just fine)
Most Christmas traditions have a nordic root. The history behind many holidays is rather interesting, and goes back before christianity became the big thing. If you’re interested in that sort of thing there are some great articles in wikipedia, but I disclaim any responsibility for problems occurring from hours spent following that rabbit hole.
Yes rabbit holes have been found.
I found it ironic (I usually do when I look closely at Christian history & btw I am Catholic) that the converts to Christianity were expected to write a poem denouncing the Norse gods… I don’t know, using the gift of poetry given to them by Odin…
Ohh those wicked wicked pagans, luckily their souls were saves by bringing their pagan rituals to Christianity.
Honestly, where would Christianity be without other faith’s beliefs and stories.
You never fail to make me happy to be a Gnome. And sometimes a spacegoat. Odin deserves a chocolate moe, just for being Odin
I’ve got a couple of chocolate Mo’s in reserve
That sounds kind of dirty in hindsight…
Please tell your son that I’ve been a good boy this year and would like a Jennifer Hawkins for Christmas.
Pffft… get in line!
[...] joked during our Lich King attempts that they were better off with a dead gnome than none at all, but Saturday night (while letting off some tension in the Arenas) it was proved that my 3v3 team [...]