Why was leek considered holy in the Edda?
score:8
Why not?
First off, this is the original:
Áðr Burs synir
bjöðum um ypðu,
þeir er Miðgarð
mœran skópu;
sól skein sunnan
á salar steina,
þá var grund gróin
grœnum lauki.
"Leek" is one of the reconstructed meanings of the laguz / laukaz rune, a symbol of fertility, so there is a chance that "lauki" stands here as a "backronym" symbol for general fertility.
It is a hardy plant that grows well even far to the north, and can be left in the ground for later harvesting during early winter, making it an excellent food source. That alone would probably be sufficient to explain it being mentioned in that way.
The leek is the national emblem of Wales, where it was considered...
...a medicine to cure a variety of illnesses [...] a cure for the common cold, alleviating the pains of childbirth...
...which is still true today, a good hot soup would still be considered "a good thing to do" when you don't feel that well.
Wikipedia (with attribution to Glantz, Animal and plant life in the Torah) states:
The Hebrew Bible talks of חציר, identified by commentators as leek, and says it is abundant in Egypt.
Which is corroborated by archaeological evidence. So it was not just the Norse that valued it.
As for general Norse mysticism, note that it is very different from monotheistic mysticism. Things are not always huge and majestic (like oaks), because the gods are not associated with omnipotence. "Holy" therefore means a lot less. Odin did not create the world and all there was on it, but is the son of the son of the giant that was licked from primeval ice by a cow. Thor's chariot was drawn by goats, Freija's chariot by cats...
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