Frost and fire; giants and gods
A white cover of snow hid the ground. It lay on the roofs of the houses
and sat in great gobs on the dark-green branches of the fir trees.
Sven’s nose and cheeks tingled in the icy air. He blew a puff of breath
between his lips and watched it turn to steam.
His grandfather smiled at him. “Are you trying to make another Ymir?” he
asked.
“Who’s Ymir?” Sven wanted to know.
“Well, Ymir was a giant, and the first living thing in the world,” said
grandfather. “He’s in a story our ancestors used to tell—a story of
how the world began. We don’t believe it any more, of course, but this
story, and others like it, is still part of our lives. Many of our
customs come from these old Norse stories of gods and heroes and giants.
Why, the days Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are named after Norse
gods, and Friday is named after a Norse goddess.”
“Tell me about Ymir,” Sven begged. He loved his grandfather’s stories.
They were one reason he liked to visit his grandparents in the northern
part of Sweden.
“Long ago,” the old man began, “where the world is now, there was only a
great yawning opening called Ginnungagap.
“South of Ginnungagap was a world of fire. It glowed with light. Heat
shimmered over it. Sparks of fire rose up from it and drifted through
the air.
“North of Ginnungagap was a world of mist. In its center was a well.
Twelve rivers flowed out of the well and ran toward Ginnungagap. The
farther they ran, the colder they grew, until finally they turned to
ice. The ice fell into Ginnungagap with a noise
o
like the roar of endless thunder. Slowly, Ginnungagap filled up with ice
and frost and cold, cold mist.
“Then, from the world of fire came floating sparks and hot winds. The
breath of heat met the cold mists and made steam—just as your warm
breath makes steam on a cold day such as this. Out of the warm steam was
formed a giant, whose name was Ymir, and a cow, called Audhumla. They
were the first living things.”
“What did they live on?” interrupted Sven. “There was nothing but ice
and snow.”
“Ymir lived on the milk that Audhumla gave, and Audhumla lived on the
salt she licked out of the ice,” grandfather explained with a smile.
“Was Ymir one of the Norse gods?” asked Sven.
“No.” Grandfather shook his head. “Ymir was the first Frost Giant. He
was evil, for the Frost Giants wanted the world for themselves and hated
men. But let me finish.
“Ymir lay down to sleep. Out of his body came a man and a woman. They
had many children, and these children were the Frost Giants.
“Then, one day as Audhumla was licking the ice, a man’s body came out of
it! His name was Bun and he created a son, named Bor. Bor married a
Frost Giant woman and they had three sons, named Vili, Ve, and Odin. And
these three were the first gods.
“Odin and his brothers saw at once that Ymir was evil, so they fought
him and killed him. Then, from his body they made this world we live on.
“The land was made from his flesh. The mountains were made from his
bones. The sea was made from his blood. From his skull they made the
sky. They filled it with sparks from the fire world, to make the sun,
moon, and stars.
“As soon as the sun began to shine, grass and trees burst up out of the
earth. Then Odin and his brothers made the first man, Ask, out of an ash
tree, and the first woman, Embla, out of an elm tree. And Ask and Embla
were the father and mother of all the people in the world.
“So that’s how our Norse ancestors believed the world began,” said
grandfather. “Now, let’s get back in the house and ask grandma to give
us some coffee and cookies!”
