On clear nights in the northernmost climes, the sky can erupt into a riot of neon-colored, undulating ribbons. Known as the aurora borealis, or the northern lights, the swirling, psychedelic extravaganza has intrigued humankind since at least 957 B.C.E. And as we approach solar maximum, the chances of seeing the spectacle improve; there are even hotels that cater to sightings.
Today, scientists largely have the northern lights figured out: They’re caused when electrically charged particles from the sun meet the Earth’s atmosphere. But thousands of years ago, people didn’t have the same tools to explain the phenomenon.
Instead, communities created folk stories to try to demystify the solar show. To some, it was a harbinger of doom and needed to be respected. To others, the aurora was auspicious and predicted good fortune.
Here’s how various cultures have explained the northern lights over time.
Estonia
Northern lights are frequently associated with animals in folklore and mythology, reflecting the deep connection between natural phenomena and wildlife in human imagination. In Estonia, the creatures thought responsible for the nighttime show were humpback whales. The idea was that when the animals gathered en masse and breached, their skin would shine off the sky, creating the auroras.
“In another story, a bright auroral display indicates a magical wedding ceremony occurring in the sky,” says Tom Kerss, the Chief Aurora Chaser for Norway-based cruise company Hurtigruten and author of The Northern Lights: The Definitive Guide to Auroras. “Flying horse-drawn carriages take guests to the exclusive, celestial party, leaving trails that shimmer and dance behind them.”
Finland
The Finnish word for the aurora borealis is revontulet, which translates to “fire foxes” and is based on an old belief of how the lights originate. In folklore, the mythical fox would strike the surface of the snow with its tail or rub against the mountainside, creating sparks that would be seen in the sky.
The Sami, an Indigenous population that spans Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden, used to believe that when the lights appeared, they must be respected.
“Traditional Sami beliefs consider auroras to be living beings that talk and understand speech,” says Marjo Laukkanen, author of The Arctic Calls—Finland, the European Union and the Arctic Region (Europe Information/Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland, 2013). “This is why people are supposed to be quiet when auroras occur.”
It was believed that disrespecting the lights would bring misfortune. For that reason, people weren’t allowed to play or laugh when the aurora was out. It was also important not to point at the lights, as it would give the spirits something to grab onto to drag you off into the night sky.
“Naturally, the stories and beliefs change over time,” Laukkanen says. “Scientific understanding of the phenomena has grown a lot, and Sami people don’t see northern lights so much as a mystical, but rather a natural phenomenon.”
Greenland
“Arsarnerit, better known as the northern lights or aurora borealis, is the highway of the dead in Greenland,” says Maria Kreutzmann, founder of Glaciem House, a company that offers talks and workshops on Greenlandic culture. “The departed dance and run across the skies on it, on their way to the afterlife.” Along the way, she added, they kick a walrus skull around (arsarnerit translates to “ball games”).
Kreutzmann also notes that some say children conceived under the northern lights are exceptionally gifted.
Iceland
According to Hidden Iceland guide Ásgeir Long, the lights have held many meanings for Icelanders throughout the ages: Some believed that the northern lights used to reduce the pain of childbirth. However, it was important never to look at them directly, or their child would be born cross-eyed. Her colleague, Unnur Silfá, recalls a few other symbolic meanings ascribed to the lights: “It confirmed that there was a battle happening somewhere,” she says. Another belief was that the weather could be predicted depending on how the aurora danced across the sky. “If it was particularly fluid, then it meant a storm was coming,” Silfá says.
Canada and the United States
Indigenous tribes across what is now Canada and the northern United States (including Alaska) have myriad folktales surrounding the celestial dance.
To some communities, the lights were ominous. The Inupiat people of northern Alaska considered them to be evil, and so they carried weapons to protect themselves. Similarly, the Fox Indians of Wisconsin saw them as the ghosts of their enemies looking to rise up and fight again.
However, other Indigenous groups saw the lights as a positive, such as the Athabascan people of interior Alaska, who thought they were the spirits of animals they’d hunted, such as moose, salmon, and beluga whales. The Menominee Indians of the Midwest believed they were the torches of friendly giants who needed the light to go spearfishing at night. And to the Algonquin people of what is now Québec and Ontario, Canada, the aurora was caused by the reflection of a large fire made by Nanabozho—who they believe created the Earth and moved to the far north—to tell them he’s thinking of them.
Norway
In some Sami stories, the lights are not to be taken lightly.
“Should one attract their attention, particularly if they are alone, they might be stolen away into the sky never to be seen again,” Kerss says. “In my opinion, this is probably an effective way to stop your children wandering off alone at night.”
Kerss adds that in other tales, the lights could be relied upon to settle an argument, seeming to battle in the sky on behalf of quarreling people. “One Sami word used to describe them is guovssahas, which translates to ‘light you can hear,’” Kerss says. “On rare occasions, auroras are accompanied by noises thought to be generated by electrostatic processes occurring much closer to the ground. It seems the Sami people must have been familiar with this remarkable effect.”
Although the Vikings arrived much later, Norse mythology associated the lights with the Bifröst, a burning rainbow bridge that connects Earth to Asgard, the realm of the gods. The lights, the Vikings believed, were the reflection of armor and shields of fallen warriors on their way to their final resting place.
Sweden
In coastal Sweden, the traditional word used for the northern lights was sillblixt (though it’s since fallen out of fashion), a term that literally translates to “herring flash.”
“In Sweden, the lights were associated with providence in the form of abundant fish stocks in the Bothnian and Baltic seas,” says Kerss. “The shining scales of so many fish would throw light into the night sky.”
This article was originally published in 2023; it was updated in December 2024 with current information.
