The Day Thor Got Married… Sort Of: A Heathen Tale for Midsummer
Long, long ago, when the days were long and the Sun hardly seemed to set, trouble came to the Gods.
One morning, Thor, the God of the Midsummer storms, reached for his mighty hammer Mjölnir—only to find it was gone! Without his hammer, the mountains would not shake, the storms would not roll, and the Jotunn might dare to attack.
Thor stormed into the hall of Freyja, the beautiful Goddess whose amber necklace shone light sunlight on summer fields.
“Freyja! Lend me your feather cloak so I can fly to find my hammer!” he demanded.
But after some back and forth about if that would indeed work, it was Loki, clever and sly, who flew off to search. He soon returned with news:
“The giant Thrym has stolen Mjölnir. He will give it back… only if Freyja marries him.”
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Freyja’s eyes blazed like fire.
“Marry that lout? Never!” she roared. Brisingamen rattled with anger about her neck.
The Gods gathered to plan. Heimdall, the watchman of the Gods, spoke up with a twinkle in his eye:
“If Thrym wants a bride, we shall give him one… Thor, you will be the bride!”
Thor’s jaw dropped. “Me?!”
But without his hammer, the land would not be safe—so eventually he agreed.
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They dressed Thor in a bridal gown, draped him with Freyja’s shining necklace, and placed a bridal veil over his red beard. Loki, grinning from ear to ear, dressed as his bridesmaid.
Together they rode in a grand cart pulled by Thor’s goats, all the way to Jötunheim.
When Thrym saw “Freyja” arrive, he boasted of the treasures he had prepared. At the wedding feast, Thor ate an entire ox, eight salmon, and drank three barrels of mead.
“Such an appetite!” Thrym whispered.
“She has not eaten in eight days, so eager was she for the wedding,” Loki replied smoothly.
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At last, Thrym brought forth Mjölnir to bless the “bride.” He placed it in Thor’s lap.
The thunder god seized the hammer, tore off the veil, and leapt to his feet. Lightning flashed, and with a roar, Thor sent the Jotunn running.
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When Thor returned to Ásgard with his hammer, the Gods celebrated with a great feast under the Midsummer sun. They laughed, sang, and told the story of the day Thor wore a wedding dress to save the world.
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So, at Midsummer, when the days are longest and the sun shines late into the night, we remember Thor’s “wedding.”
We feast, we laugh, we tell tales, we play games, and we celebrate the strength, cleverness, and joy that keep our world safe and bright.
We say:
“Hail Thor, protector of Midgard,
Mjolnir’s master, and good of the Midsummer storms!
Keep us safe and our lands fertile through the summer!”
And just as the Gods laughed together in the golden light, so do we, knowing the warmth will stay a little while longer before the Winter returns again.
The End.
