A strong, tall, blond, bearded man with a hammer in his hand and wearing a cape. Is this description familiar to you? The Norse god, Thor, known as the Thunder King, has three films of his own and has already participated in the Avengers movie sequel. But this blonde isn't just present on movie screens or in comic books.
As Thor is part of Norse mythology and has an appearance that resembles Vikings, he is a god worshiped and known in France, Rome and England. Thor's courage and honor, externalized when he wields a special hammer, called Mjölnir, are the most important values for the people who have this god as a folk figure.
It is in honor of Thor that the Festival of Thor was born. The day for this feast was curiously defined. When the Vikings occupied Roman territory, they adopted the Roman calendar to organize their days. Thus, each day of the week was given the day of a god. Thursday, Thursday in English, is actually Thor's Day or Thor's Day when translating to Portuguese.
On January 19, when this special date is celebrated, there is a series of ceremonies in honor of Thor. While some people dress like the god, or make utensils similar to his, others prefer to follow the tradition of the date and ask for courage from this powerful man. How do they do it?
First, the Norse take a hollow horn from some animal. Inside it, they put beer or wine. This distinctive cup is passed on to all members of a family or to all friends in a group. Nobody drinks the liquid. What they do is raise their horn asking Thor to grant them courage.
After all the people place their orders for Thor, the drink must be thrown on the floor, in the open air, as an offering to the god. As a way of thanking him for this gesture, it is believed that Thor will fulfill the requests of the people who performed this entire ritual.
You may also like
- Spiritual Lessons We Can Learn From Star Wars
- The force that inhabits us
- Comfort zone is lack of courage?
The requests for courage to the thunder god, although they are more efficient when accompanied by the ritual, can also happen without all this party. To increase your courage and strength on the day of the Festival of Thor, in your home, you can mentalize the image of this god and ask him to grant you courage and strength for the goals you desire. You can repeat something like:
“At the Festival of Thor, I ask the god of thunder for all the courage and all the strength I need to [describe the situation for which you need these virtues]. Thank you for listening to me!”.
Thus, you will feel a stimulus to develop those attributions that already exist in you, but that can always be amplified. Be inspired by the power of Thor to understand how far his courage and strength can take you.
There is, however, another way to celebrate this day if you are not able to perform this ritual as tradition dictates. You can explore depictions of Thor in the movies or comics! Below you will find some suggestions:
Thor movies
1) Thor, 2011: ideal for people who want to know more about the god's history and his relationship with humans;
2) Thor, the Dark World, 2013: with a more mysterious atmosphere, the second film in the sequel to Thor brings a situation totally different from the first contact with Earth;
3) Thor: Ragnarok, 2017: A colorful, humorous film that takes place more in space than on Earth. It's the perfect ending to the trilogy!
Thor comics
1) Walt Simonson's Thor: This comic book depicts a battle between Thor and Surtur, a great villain, in addition to showing the emergence of Beta Ray Bill, a fun supporting character;
2) Thor – The Butcher of the Gods, by Jason Aaron: three versions of Thor, past, present and future, unite to defeat a villain who is exterminating all the gods;
3) Thor – Ragnarok, by Stan Lee (the first version) and by Michael Avon Oeming (the second version): Thor has a duty to defend the Asgardian people (over which he reigns) from a villain that threatens to exterminate the entire galaxy;
4) Thor – Tales from Asgard, by Stan Lee: a compilation of stories involving people around Thor, living in Asgard;
5) Thor, Michael Straczynski: The comic features what happens when Thor returns from Ragnarok.
