It's the civilisations of the north who have seen the most of the aurora borealis. Without scientific explanation, their amazement and anxiety were transformed into myths and legends, as these people sought to decipher the meaning behind the light displays.
The mysterious phenomenon often provoked fear. The aurora has long been seen as a harbinger of doom, perhaps because of its red, bloodlike glow. Omens of war have been described in Poland, Prussia, Germany, Denmark, and Estonia, and among the Saami or Lapp people. In Norway, people submitted entirely to the lights. There was no waving, whistling, or staring at the aurora, in case it reached down and touched you… with unwelcome results.
Other tribes perceived a more playful character to the lights. The Inuit imagined it as souls at play, using a walrus head as a ball. In the folklore of the Aboriginals of eastern Greenland, the glowing lights are the souls of killed or stillborn babies. They are called alugsukat, which means secret birth.
Ancient Finnish tales speak of an Arctic fox starting fires by brushing its fur along the snow, causing sparks to fly up into the sky. To this day, the phenomenon is called revontulet, which means fox fires.
Icelandic folklore has it that if a pregnant woman gazes at the Northern Lights, her child will be born cross-eyed.
The Chinese saw serpents flickering in the skies, and Native American tribes attributed the lights to a range of things, including the spirits of dead hunters, a friendly giant catching fish in the sea, and fires lit by dwarves.
Many peoples believed that the Northern Lights could deeply affect them:
In Chinese and Japanese cultures, it's still believed that a child conceived under the aurora will receive good luck and good looks.
Icelandic folklore has it that if a pregnant woman gazes at the Northern Lights, her child will be born cross-eyed. That said, they also believed that the lights ease the pain of childbirth.
People in northern Sweden believed that the lights were created by huge shoals of herring - an impressive display meant fishermen expected a good haul.
Many Aboriginals and Native American tribes whistled to call the lights closer in order to whisper messages to their dead.
Predicting the timing and appearance of the aurora remains out of reach. One night it may be a milky green so pale and spread so thinly across the sky that it could be mistaken for clouds; the following night it could be red, violet, and bright enough to read by. But understanding the cause of the lights, and knowing where it's most likely to be seen, hasn't rendered it any less spectacular.
When you're huddled in the snow, wrapped with blankets and waiting for your first glimpse, remember that it's this elusive quality that maintains the aurora's magic, and what makes a sighting so special.
