Random Fascinating Viking Religious Beliefs (10 items)

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  (#3) Ritual Sacrifice Was A Part Of Their Belief System

  Sacrifice was a way to appease the gods and the offerings could comprise of humans, animals, or inanimate objects. Human sacrifices were performed at funerals to accompany the fallen into the next world and at regularly occurring religious festivals, like Yule.

  The Norse god Odin was associated with hanging and strangulation, and it's believed that Vikings would use those methods in human sacrifices directed to him.
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  (#8) They Had Birthing And Naming Rituals

  Giving birth to a child was far more dangerous a task back in the Viking age than it is today. Vikings prayed and sang to the fertility goddesses Freya and Frigg in hopes of protecting the mother and child.

  Naming the child also involved a ritual; they would wait nine days after the birth, at which time the father would place the child on his knee and sprinkle them with water. This sort of baptism was a way of blessing and accepting the child into the family. The pool of names chosen from was usually a combination of deities and the names of the family’s ancestors.
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  (#6) There Were No Full-Time Priests

  From what is known of the Norse religion, there didn’t seem to be anyone designated as a religious leader within their communities. Instead, there were various leaders, often chieftains, who took on religious roles and performed sacrifices in addition to their “main role” within society.

  The king or chief was responsible for overseeing public faith, while private faith was up to each individual head of household.
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  (#9) Marriage Rituals Involved Feasting For Days

  The bruðkaup, or wedding, often lasted many days. It was the first gathering of the two merging families in a public setting and they would feast. In addition to the guests, the goddess Freyja was said to witness the wedding vows. 

  A representation of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, would be placed in the bride’s lap as she asked for Thor’s blessing. On the night of the wedding, the couple was led to their bed by torch light so they could consummate their marriage. 
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  (#1) There Were Nine Underworlds

  The Vikings believed death was a transition into one of the nine realms that existed alongside them. The two main places the dead would spend eternity were Valhalla, a place for fallen warriors where banquets were held and Odin reigned, or Helheim, which was filled with those who had “dishonorable deaths.”

  A dishonorable way to pass for Vikings was illness or old age; only those who fell in combat were considered honorable warriors deserving of Valhalla.
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  (#2) Funeral Rites Were Very Important

  The Vikings practiced both burial and cremation for their deceased. The strong belief in various realms brought with it the desire to take personal objects and companions with them. Vikings would spend a great deal of time gathering possessions and ensuring the funeral rites for their fallen brothers were the perfect transition into the afterlife.

  In the case of chiefs, they’d use an enslaved girl as a human sacrifice to follow him into his afterlife. These cremation rituals involved performing sex rites with the woman that was to be sacrificed prior to killing her and cremating her body with the chief. 

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