One of my friends is a nice guy (so far) who is willing to answer my questions on Norse stuff and history without shaking his head condescendingly. Except when people have an interest in religions that their ancestors didn't follow. This makes me feel uncomfortable. (For the context, he's a caucasian Canadian and he was judging someone who is into Greek mythology.) I can't quite put my finger on exactly why this bothers me. I guess I figure it's not his place to judge other people for their likes and beliefs.
His reasons is he's really big into ancestor worship apparently. That's neat I guess. Personally, I think it would be really cool to be able to trace one's ancestor's back as far as possible. My dad didn't even know we're descended from Norwegians until he started looking into it because he didn't know much either. Unfortunately, my dad is not someone I feel like having a chat with. Actually, I've only heard stories of the past three generations (mine, my parents', and my grandparents). In other words, the only "ancestors" I really know anything about are people who want nothing to do with their parents. I wonder how far that pattern goes back. Maybe that's why I know next to nothing about my ancestors. I'm not too keen on the idea of honouring the ones I know about. I wonder if he judges me for my lack of ancestral knowledge.
Which is why I guess I'd make a lousy pagan. Thank goodness I decided to just do whatever.
