Troll

Can you think of anything more Norwegian than trolls? Well, that is what many people think about when they think about Norway. Trolls. But where did the idea of trolls come from? And is there any truth to it?

Now you probably think I’m crazy, but bare with me for a second. Maybe the thought of finding some truths to the fairytales and legends is not so stupid.

OK, so the tales say that trolls can talk, dress up, go to school, live in houses and all that. But tales say that about pigs, frogs and bears too. And we know that is not true. So let’s look at what else the tales say about trolls.

Trolls are tall, big, smelly, hairy, and have huge feet and hands. When they get angry, they throw rocks and tree trunks after people that come too close. The tales say that trolls mainly go out at night, and they will kill you without hesitation.

Wait a second… Have you heard that before? Is there a creature in other countries or on other continents they say that about? The answer is a resounding YES!

Who? Or what? Think!

Have you ever heard of bigfoot? Sasquatch? Yeti? Reading the descriptions of these creatures is the same as the one for trolls, but they do not live in Norway. These legends come from China, Nepal, Canada, USA, Mexico and many other countries.

Ouch… that means that the Norwegian national symbol… the troll… is just another mythological creature, and it’s not that Norwegian after all.

Still it’s kind of cool to think that our national symbol, the most Norwegian we can think about, is a bigfoot – or in Norwegian – TROLL.