<\/div>\nAnd it\u2019s not only Nordic skies lit by mythical characters.<\/p>\n
In northern Scotland, the lights are called the Mirrie Dancers.<\/p>\n
In Scottish Gaelic they\u2019re Na Fir-Chlis, the \u2018nimble men\u2019, which is also the name of a 1909 poem by Donald Mackenzie.<\/p>\n
It incorporates folklore associated with the lights, in which a fairy ceilidh in the heavens turns into a conflict.<\/p>\n
I discover Mackenzie was born and buried in, of all places, Cromarty.<\/p>\n
And this fills me with hope that when I\u2019m there, I\u2019ll get to watch \u201cas merrily flit the Nimble Folk across the Northern Sky\u201d.<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared in the March 2023 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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