Thor

Thor is most likely the most popular Norse god in the modern age. Thor is the Norse/Germanic god of thunder, and is most recognizable by his hammer named Mjöllnir. This hammer is one of the most recognizable objects in all of mythology, the only thing that could be more recognizable would probably be Zeus' thunderbolt. Thor has also been associated with the swastika, since it seemed to resemble lightning, and was also simpler to put onto objects, such as a sword pommel or a button. The meaning of someone doing this would be to place ones self underneath the protection of Thor.Thor is generally only seen as the God of thunder, which is a vast underestimation of all that he was the god of. He is also the god of thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, destruction, fertility, healing, and the protection of mankind. It is probably the last one that has made him considered such a popular god with the ancient Norse. This popularity has led to him being a popular god even now. It is that popularity that leads to us having Thursday, or "Thor's day," in German there is a Donarstag, which is "Donar's day" in German, Donar being the German name for Thor. This name is here because when the Romans took over the lands of the German tribes, they found that it was easier to take the day that the Germans were already worshiping on, and just name it after the main god that they were worshiping. In some parts of Germany the Christian sabbath was celebrated on Thursday because of that long standing tradition. The concept of wearing a pendant in the shape of Thor's hammer was big only during the viking age and a little bit after, due to their resistance to being converted to Christianity. This resistance to conversion led to many Christian symbols and traditions being Germanized. The practice of Christmas being at the solstice, and decorating a tree for it were both created, or rather adopted, to help convert the pagan Germanic tribes buy adopting their traditions. The Christian cross, the most holy symbol of Christiandom, took on a shape close to that of Thor's hammer in Germany and other places that resisted Christianity. Thor is generally compared to Zeus when comparing Greek and Norse mythologies. This comparison is only warranted when talking about one area of what Thor does, which would be that they are both considered the cause for thunder and lightning. However, seeing that Thor is also the god of such opposite things as destruction and healing strength and fertility, Thor has no real equal in any other major polytheistic religion. Thor unfortunately does not have a happy ending in our eyes, however in the ancient Norse's eyes, it was the best death you could hope for. Thor is killed fighting his long time nemesis Jörmungandr, an evil serpent, in Ragnarök the Norse end of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor []