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The Vikings’ Apocalypse Is Coming Up

According to old Norse mythology, we’re 100 days into the end of the world

Contributor

February 17, 2014

Ragnarok — Thor und die Midgardsschlange. A scene from Ragnarök, the final battle between Thor and Jörmungandr. Emil Doepler

It’s time for the Viking apocalypse. According to old Norse mythology, we’re 100 days into the end of the world. If you haven’t been paying attention, you’ve already missed the part where the wolf son of Loki escaped from prison, and the giant serpent Migard emerged from the ocean (in the form of a giant oarfish that washed up on a Southern California beach).

According to NPR, these events all point to the Norse apocalypse:

Saturday, Ragnarok will culminate in an epic battle. The pantheon of Norse gods — Thor, Loki, Odin, Freyr, Hermóðr, every last god — will fight, the Earth will fall into the sea, and life as we know it will cease to be.

Thankfully, there are some things you can do before the end of the world—like attend a Norse festival. And, according to festival director Danielle Daglan, Ragnarok might not end so badly for humans, she told NPR.

Festival director Danielle Daglan says there's a silver lining in Ragnarok: Although gods and monsters will wreak havoc across the globe, humans might remain unscathed. (That's probably a bit too optimistic. Let's just say we won't be completely annihilated.) “The end of the world is really an end of the world for the gods, and the world will be reborn for the human population," says Daglan.

Either way, it’s probably time to break out the mead.