ch goes from the top of Albordj to heaven. The dog
Sirius (Sura), the watchman who keeps guard over the abyss, seems also to
correspond to Surtur, the watchman of the luminous world at the South. The
earth, in the Avesta, is called Hethra, and by the ancient Germans and
Scandinavians, Hertha,--the name given by Tacitus to this goddess,
signifying the earth, in all the Teutonic languages. In like manner, the
German name for heaven, Himmel, is derived from the Sanskrit word
"Himmala," the name of the Himmalah Mountains in Central Asia, believed by
the ancient inhabitants of Asia to be the residence of their gods[330].

Sec. 6. Scandinavian Worship.

The religious ceremonies of the Scandinavians were simple. Their worship,
like that of the followers of Zoroaster, was at first held in the open
air; but in later times they erected temples, some of which were quite
splendid. There were three great festivals in the year. The first was at
the winter solstice, and on the longest night of the year, which was
called the Mother Night, as that which produced the rest. This great feast
was called Yul, whence comes the English Yule, the old name for Christmas,
which festival took its place when the Scandinavians became Christians.
Their festival was in honor of the sun, and was held with sacrifices,
feasting, and great mirth. The second festival was in spring, in honor of
the earth, to supplicate fruitful crops. The third was also in the spring,
in honor of Odin. The sacrifices were of fruits, afterward animals, and
occasionally, in later times, human beings. The people believed in divine
interposition, and also in a fixed destiny, but especially in themselves,
in their own force and courage. Some of them laughed at the gods, some
challenged them to fight with them, and professed to believe in nothing
but their own might and main. One warrior calls for Odin, as a foeman
alone worthy of his steel, and it was considered lawful to fight the gods.
The quicken-tree, or mountain-ash, was believed to possess great virtues,
on account of the aid it afforded to Thor on one occasion.

Beside the priests, the Northern nations had their soothsayers. They also
believed that by the power of runes the dead could be made to speak. These
runes were called galder, and another kind of magic, mostly practised by
women, was called seid. It was thought that these wise women possessed the
power of raising and allaying storms, and of hardening the body