I think you've heard that the northern peoples, such as the Eskimos and Sami, have 50 words for snow. It's true, maybe even more. It is not surprising when almost 9 months of the year everything is white in front of your eyes, but at the same time there are differences in the texture of snow in each season.
However, it is rarely mentioned that there are even more names for ice in the Sami dialect. For the Sami, snow is not an enemy, it is not so terrible, often on the contrary, it helps to survive. But ice is a completely different matter, it never brings good. Ice is all-pervading, merciless and insidious. Therefore, in order to survive, you have to give it so many names that everyone around knows what your enemy will appear today.
The Sami believe that ice has not always existed on our land. Once there was only Mother winter, the lady of snow, who wrapped the earth with a white blanket in the polar night, in the absence of light, helping to survive a difficult time in a dream. But many, many years ago, one summer, trouble came, the Sun went crazy and the era of heat and fire came, all life on earth began to burn and there was nowhere to hide.
Then the Main God decided to send one of his daughters to help people - the Lady of Ice, who lived on the Polar Star. She went down to help people in the place where the Arctic is now, and sincerely wanting to save all living things from death, she began to use her magical powers freezing all living things.
Where her foot stepped, plants, animals, people, and even the earth were covered with ice for several meters deep. The ice Lady went further and further south, wrapping everything in her path with an ice cocoon. At first, the other gods were glad that the plan worked, besides, the sculptures created by the daughter of the Lord were so beautiful.
But after trying to free one little bird from the ice, they realized that she was dead, and it was impossible to return her to the world of the living, life on earth was so fragile to endure the powers of the gods.
Then all the gods gathered their strength and subdued the Sun. But even after that, the ice goddess didn't stop her step. She liked the earth so much, it turned out to be so beautiful that the ice goddess wanted to see every corner of it. Other gods asked her to stop, but she did not hear them, filled with earthly beauties....
Then the goddess Earth raised high mountains in her path (Khibiny). Having reached the high inaccessible mountains and not seeing any traces of anything alive on them, the ice goddess decided that this was a dead end, that she went around the whole earth and saved everyone, as she was asked. The delusion dissipated and she was able to hear the other gods, and they told her what trouble she had brought, instead of saving everyone.
The Goddess of ice was very upset, she felt such shame and guilt that she ran away to the very top of the earth, to the Arctic, and remained there alone, experiencing her grief. Huge icebergs grew from her tears, which became her home and castle.
And she's still there, alone, in grief and sorrow. Unable to hold back her tears. Therefore, when the sun weakens once a year, her ice sometimes makes its way across the ocean and reaches the mainland, bringing danger to people. And the land in the north has not warmed up, and even in the hot summer, digging a meter deep, you will find permafrost…
That's how ice appeared on earth. So different in its manifestations and images, coming suddenly, able to conquer everything that he meets on his way. Even the waters of the endless ocean give way before him in the coldest winters, this rarely happens, but still ... Snow can be warm, believe me, it often saves the lives of locals, but ice, never.
But ice will remain on earth until the end of time, because no one will be able to bring peace to the goddess of ice, who so wanted to help people and see the earth… And every year we are amazed at its beauty and the danger it carries. And sometimes we think, looking at the amazing forms that it takes, how beautiful is the one that gave birth to it.