Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Viking festival in Gudahagen

Reporter Mikael Rasmussen alias Artist Razz visited the Viking Market at Gudahagen sacred site in Näsum, Skåne, which celebrated its 15th anniversary last weekend. In true Viking spirit, the market offered quality handicrafts, food, culture and, of course, the occasional Viking roar.

Published 5 October 2024
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4 minute read

During the weekend of September 14th and 15th, the Viking Days became more of a Viking festival with jesters, musicians, merchants, lecturers and ordinary people, a crowd-pleasing, family-friendly market offering quality crafts, food and culture.

Here you could find honey, herbal ointments, pungent spices, and solid wood and blacksmithing crafts. The range of handmade clothing, leather bags and headdresses added to the atmosphere. All the senses were stimulated by the occasional clash of swords, the beautiful sounds of instruments such as drums, fiddles, cranks, and strong, clear male and female voices.

In an enclosure, the audience could participate in Strong Man and Strong Woman. For example, it was a show of strength to lift a cannonball, place it on a meter-high standing log, and immediately drop it back to the ground. The competition was to see how many times they could lift the ball. Another element was to lift a heavy log, hold it with outstretched arms, wait for a signal from the judge, and then repeat the lift with the addition of taking one step backward.

In another enclosure, the audience could see and hear Vikings fighting energetically, wielding swords with fervor and charming presence in period armor. The Viking warriors offered Viking roars, mighty blows and fragrant energy, so that it felt as if we were back in the hard, cruel and final 1000s of the Viking Age.

Other elements offered during these days were lectures on the chosen theme: funerals and the funeral procession. How did it happen? Was it like in the Hollywood movies? What does a Viking grave look like? Yes, there were many questions, but the answers were also explained by archaeologist and lecturer Andreas Forsgren, who vividly described the various scenarios that it is unlikely that the body was placed on something like a ship, then set on fire and finally sent out to sea. No, I don’t think any of the neighbors wanted to see burnt bones floating to a neighboring beach.

Instead, the Viking bodies were buried in the ground and then they made some kind of stone structure. In modern times, we can see this in certain places, like this sacred site, where the Viking festival took place, the archaeologist said.

After the lecture, more powerful experiences were offered, such as beautiful, majestic horses like the Shire horse. This allowed Viking visitors to meet the largest horse breed in the world, weighing around 900 kilograms. They demonstrated incredible riding and carriage pulling skills.

The carefully chosen location for this Viking market was the setting for respect, friendliness and the thinking process. The stalls were also uniformly presented and the next act on the program was a juggler juggling knives, axes and apples.

The show continued and the performance ended with a fire show where the juggler extinguished the torches in his pants. The torches are extinguished and the juggler bows to an enthusiastic audience.

As the day progresses, it’s time for some good food. Visitors can choose from modern grilled and boiled sausages, kebabs, game and even chili con carne, which is also available in vegetarian versions.

Yes, the day contains many stimulating delights. Handicrafts include fine drinking glasses, beautiful glass jewelry, woodwork, fine lambskins, and in total there were about 120 vendors with high quality cultural handicrafts. There was also plenty of music, with many strong voices in solo singing, choirs, and choral singing with Viking harmonies by, among others, a Viking and medieval interpreter with the artist name Medvind. With a slight headwind, the audience was treated to good theatrical and dramatic performances, with the band members dressed in historical costumes, mastering the medieval instruments, the voices complementing each other, and surprised with dramatic acting that really transported the audience from the present to the Viking Age.

What makes it even more interesting to really listen and watch Medvind is that they write most of the lyrics and music that they perform. They touch on many topics that the Vikings of the Viking Age and the Middle Ages were concerned with, such as beer, brandy, the church, gods, warriors, millers and bakers. The really beautiful compositions, both delicate and beautiful in their melody, are Bittra Droppar and Vädjan. The repertoire also includes Brandagall, Pastor Rynkles Skål, Beer and Drinkjom. The music is poetic, entertaining and authentic.

The day draws to a close and the Viking celebrants, dressed in medieval costumes, have given their grateful visitors and audience an unforgettable, powerful experience. The jesters, musicians and craftsmen of the night will probably want to move on to their own more private Viking celebrations in the evening, with mead, Amanita muscaria and all sorts of erotic experiences, which the rest of us will then hear about in the songs that will be performed, and perhaps tempt us to become Viking celebrants ourselves.

See you next year in Gudahagen and thank you for a well organized Viking Festival 2024!

 

Mikael Rasmussen alias Artist Razz

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The Vikings hunted walrus in the North American Arctic

Published 12 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The researchers tested routes by sailing in traditionally-built Viking ships.
2 minute read

New research suggests that Vikings hunted walrus far north in Arctic North America, much further than previously thought. This suggests that the Vikings encountered indigenous peoples long before Columbus “discovered” North America.

During the Viking Age, demand for walrus tusks was high in Europe. The Vikings played a major role in the trade of walrus ivory and it is known that walruses were hunted in Iceland and around Greenland.


This article was originally published on November 9, 2024.


In a new study, published in Science Advances, researchers from Lund University and the University of Copenhagen, among others, have examined several ivory finds using DNA. The researchers used a so-called genetic “fingerprint” to reconstruct exactly where the walrus trade items came from.

– We extracted ancient DNA from walruses collected in a variety of locations in the North Atlantic Arctic. With this information in place, we were then able to match the genetic profiles of walrus items traded by Greenland Norwegians to Europe back to very specific Arctic hunting grounds, said Morten Tange Olsen, associate professor at the Globe Institute in Copenhagen in a press release.

“Remote hunting grounds”

The findings show that between 950 and 1250, the Vikings hunted walrus much further up around the North American Arctic than previously thought. The ivory tested comes from stocks in the sea between Greenland and Canada, and possibly from the interior of the Canadian Arctic. The results surprised the researchers, as it was previously thought that the Vikings hunted around their settlements in southwest Greenland.

– What really surprised us was that much of the walrus ivory exported back to Europe came from very remote hunting grounds deep in the High Arctic, that is, north of where the tundra ends, says Peter Jordan, professor of archaeology at Lund University.

Sailing that far required great seafaring skills, so researchers wondered if it was possible that the Vikings may have had this type of seafaring knowledge. To find answers, they used reconstructed sailing routes, and the researchers also made experimental voyages in traditional clinker-built Norwegian boats. According to the researchers, the Vikings had sufficient resources and knowledge to make these voyages.

Encountering indigenous people centuries before Columbus

At this time, the hunting grounds of the High Arctic were inhabited by the so-called Thule Inuit and possibly other Arctic indigenous peoples. They also hunted walrus. The study strengthens the theory that the Vikings had contact with North American peoples centuries before Christopher Columbus “discovered” North America.

We will never know exactly, but on a more human level, these encounters in the vast and frightening landscapes should have aroused both curiosity and fascination, says Jordan:

– We need to do much more research to understand these interactions and motivations, especially from an indigenous perspective as well as a more “Eurocentric” Nordic perspective.

It should be noted that encounters – and conflicts – between Norse and North American Indians or Inuit are already mentioned in the old Icelandic sagas, although it is not always easy to determine the veracity of the stories.

Swedish climate extremists who blocked ambulance acquitted by Supreme Court

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 11 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Police remove the road blockade in August 2022.
2 minute read

A nearly three-year legal process concluded this week when all activists from Restore Wetlands (Återställ Våtmarker) were acquitted for blocking the E4 motorway in August 2022, which in addition to causing long traffic jams also delayed an ambulance on an emergency call.

According to Sweden’s Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen), the road blockade was not comparable to the threats against vital societal interests required by law for a conviction of sabotage, and therefore acquitted all participants in the climate alarmist group’s action. The Supreme Court particularly emphasized the importance of freedom of demonstration and freedom of expression in a ruling that will serve as guidance for how civil disobedience should be punished, which in practice opens the door for more motorway blockades.

The legal situation has been unclear regarding what constitutes a serious disruption or obstruction in these cases. It’s good that we now have clear guidance from the Supreme Court on how prosecutions for sabotage should be assessed in the future, says Chief Prosecutor Katarina Johansson Welin in the Supreme Court’s press release.

The group itself describes its action as an “act of love”.

Victory! Today we celebrate that the sabotage charge has been shot down for the last time. In my heart, I have always known that I acted exactly right. To sit peacefully and openly on a motorway and demand that emissions decrease is among the strongest acts of love for our children and for life that you can do, and we did exactly that, says one of those acquitted in the climate group’s press release.

Green Party economist: Good that fewer children are born in Sweden

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 11 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Green Party politician Lennart Olsen sees children as an unnecessary burden on the economy and the environment.
2 minute read

That fewer children are born in Sweden is only good for the environment, argues Green Party (Miljöpartiet) politician Lennart Olsen. Children and young people also cost more than older people, who can still work at higher ages if the pension age is raised, he adds.

Olsen writes in a debate article in the Bonnier publication Dagens Nyheter that people should view positively the fact that Swedes are not reproducing themselves.

“What’s needed here is a reversed perspective, where lower birth rates and eventually decreasing population should be welcomed to reduce the exploitation of the earth’s ecosystems“.

The Green Party member believes that the Swedish government’s investigation aimed at proposing measures to raise the very low birth rates in Sweden is “misguided”. He argues that the state can save money from fewer children being born.

“For the state’s and municipal sector’s economy, children and young people are a much greater expense than the elderly. This is because virtually all people between 0 and 20 years old cost a lot of money in the form of preschool, school, higher education, parental insurance, child allowance and more“, Olsen explains his thesis and argues that older people also won’t need as much pension if the retirement age is raised further.

Above all, the Green Party economist sees the possibility that fewer Swedish children will lead to a better climate in the long term.

“The positive effects of such a development can then also take effect and lead to reduced pressure on the earth’s ecosystems“, writes Olsen.

Olsen represents a so-called neo-Malthusian line, an ideological movement that strives for reduced population and strongly influences the climate alarmist movement.

Sweden’s Christian Democrats call for tax relief for families with children

Published 10 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

Swedish families with children should receive tax relief, according to the same model as Hungary. This is proposed by Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch.

The catastrophically low birth rate has recently become a topic of discussion even among Swedish politicians. Childbirth in Sweden is at historically low levels. During 2023, an average of 1.43 children were born per woman – the lowest figure ever recorded. The standing solution advocated among Swedish politicians has been to bring foreigners to Sweden to replace the population.

The leader of the Christian Democrats Ebba Busch proposes on this theme to follow the Hungarian model, where families with children receive significant tax relief that increases for each child. The principle is to make it easier for one or later both parents to support themselves through work instead of benefits.

If current birth rate trends continue in Sweden, each new generation will be approximately 30 percent smaller than the previous one, which means major consequences including for the labor market and welfare system when fewer people of working age must support a growing elderly population.

 

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