The sound of an ancient horn signaled the beginning of a countdown to the Norse apocalypse. The horn belonged to the Norse god, Heimdallr, who was said to blow the mythical Gjallerhorn to warn that Ragnarok -- the Viking apocalypse -- will take place in 100 days. And as luck would have it, that horn was sounded around 98 days ago.
Experts are predicting the end of the world will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2014, according to the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, England. Coincidentally, that is the same day as the grand finale of the 30th Jorvik Viking Festival. Hmm...
Nordic folklore has it that after three freezing winters, when there have been no summers in between, the world will come to an end. Just ask folks acrorss the US how many winters they feel they've tolerated just since October.
"Ragnarok is the ultimate landmark in Viking mythology, when the gods fall and die, so this really is an event that should not be underestimated," said Danielle Daglan, director of the Jorvik Viking Festival. "In the last couple of years, we've had predictions of the Mayan apocalypse, which passed without incident, and numerous other dates where the end of the world has been pencilled in by seers, fortune tellers and visionaries, but the sound of the horn is possibly the best indicator yet that the Viking version of the end of the world really will happen on 22 February."
According to the legends of Ragnarok, the god Odin will be killed by the wolf Fenrir and the other 'creator' gods will fall, before the earth is born anew for its human population.
The Viking festival's website has conveniently included a countdown clock so you'll know just how much time you have left to pillage and plunder, or take care of those pesky errands. You can also follow them on Twitter @JorvikViking. From the looks of their recent tweets, the end of the world doesn't appear to be overly worrying to them, but maybe these hearty souls are just good at hiding their true feelings.
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