We know very little scientifically about the Northern Lights, which we are amazed to see, photograph or video of, even if you can't go and see them. But the myths are too many contrary to scientific knowledge. Let's learn about these legends about the lights that fascinate us all by dividing them into geographies.

SCANDINAVIA, ICELAND AND GREENLAND

Let's start with the homeland of the Northern Lights, let's see what belief there is about itself. Since this place witnesses the most beautiful images, the most fantastic stories belong here. For example, in Iceland, they believe that the Northern Lights, or Aurora, reduce labor pains if the woman in labor does not look at the sky. If the woman looks at the sky, the child is born cross-eyed.

In Greenland, the Aurora is associated with birth. But unlike Iceland, they blame Aurora for stillbirths or infant deaths after birth.

For the Swedes, the lights are a myth that the gods sent from a volcano in the north, heralding a prosperous coming year.

The Finnish word for Aurora "revontulet" means red fox. Legend has it that the fox ran so fast on the snow that its tail touched the sky to form the Aurora. Another belief adopted by the Sami, the local people of Lapland, is that these colorful lights are the foam that whales produce with their tails.

In Vikings, they believe that the lights carry the souls of heroines (Valkyries) who died in war to the hall (Valhalla) where Odin, the father of the gods in Scandinavian Mythology, awaits these souls.

SCOTTIA AND ENGLAND

Legend has it that before the French Revolution, the sky was covered with red lights. With the revolution that took place right after, the lights are thought to be the harbinger of events in their neighbours. This natural phenomenon, also called the "Bloody Aurora", is very rare. It is so rare that although there are photos of the red Aurora officially shared by NASA, it is still debated whether they are real or not.

NORTH AMERICA

Cree Indians believe that the Aurora is part of the life cycle and the means by which souls who cannot leave the world communicate with their living loved ones.

ANCIENT GREEK AND ROME

The etymological origin of the words "Aurora Borealis", which we know as the Northern Lights, is based on Greek. “Aurora” means sunrise and “borealis” means wind. In Greek Mythology, Aurora Borealis is the sister of the Sun God Helios and the Moon God Seline. His mission is to herald the sunrise to his brothers by driving his colorful car in the sky. That is, to blow the sunrise wind. According to Roman Mythology, the Northern Lights are seen as the Goddess of Dawn.

CHINA, JAPAN AND AUSTRALIA

The Chinese associate this rare natural phenomenon with dragons. These lights dancing in the sky, according to them, are the battle of good and evil dragons spewing fire at each other.

According to the Japanese, when conceived by witnessing the Southern Lights, they think that the unborn child will be blessed in appearance and intelligence. In fact, due to this belief, there are many tourists from the Far East, especially in Iceland.

Aborigines, on the other hand, watched the Aurora Australis as the sky dance of their gods.