Memorial Day is upon us. It is that wonderful American holiday when the living honor the dead who have set aside a part of their lives to preserve our existence in the greatest country ever conceived on the face of the earth. We are free to perceive Heaven as we think it should be. Before they adopted Christianity, the Vikings believed Heaven was compartmentalized, with a special hall dedicated to their warriors who were known to be fierce and incredibly brave. When you put on an American military uniform, your bravery is on exhibit and at least once in your life, you threw the dice with your blood on the line. The parallels between Valhalla and our Heaven are many. Let’s have a look.
Valhalla is where the Norse God, Odin, housed dead Viking warriors. The roof of Valhalla was said to be made of Viking shields supported by rafters made of spears. Every seat was made of a breast plate, scarred in mortal combat. The gates were guarded by wolves and eagles soared above keeping watch. These warriors drank the finest mead and ate only the meat of fierce boars and stags. The feast was a daily occurrence, enjoyed after a day of fighting, and all wounds were healed before retiring for the evening.
Valhalla was located in Asgard, the equivalent of our heaven, and was known to all Nordic people. Admittance to this special place was at the choosing of Odin, and only warriors were permitted. Not a warrior, you could still enjoy the rewards of Asgard, but not in this hall. The preservation of the Norse culture required warriors who were willing to shed blood in mortal combat for their fellow Norsemen, and died doing so.
In my mind, there is the equivalent of Valhalla in our heaven. On this earth, as we know it, fighting and dying is always going to happen and precious few have actually agreed to carry on in the fight to preserve what we enjoy. In Norse lore, it was an honor to close with the enemy and vanquish or be vanquished to protect their way of life. While we owe a tremendous debt to our veterans who have died in the defense of our country, they also owe our countrymen for the opportunity to enter our Valhalla. It must be a glorious place.
May God richly bless the veterans who died in the service of America. They are enjoying their heavenly reward having been admitted to the equivalent Valhalla in our Heaven. We would not exist without them.
Enjoy the Holiday and never forget.
srj641 