About...
Due to a recent upswing in questions, we've decided to put together a quick "about" page for this website.
...McViking.com
Well, Sinead's a Mc Donnell, Irish from northside Dublin with some ancient Scottish roots to the family. And Jan's an American pan-European mutt who traces his ancestry through Ellis Island, but often talks fondly of the "tradesmen" from Norway from whom his name derives.
So Dublin was originally settled by the Vikings, who, intoxicated by the beauty of the countryside and the charm of the natives, couldn't help themselves but to stay in Ireland. At least, that's how Jan understands the history.
Now, during a fine session of partying and drinking in San Francisco, one good friend of the couple picked up on this historical love-dance between the Irish and the Norse. When discussing what name Sinead would take after the wedding, and before Sinead could shout "I'm finally going to be a Borg!", the friend exclaimed, "Mc Viking! You guys are the Mc Vikings!".
Jan bought the domain name that very night.
...that star-like thing up top there
Trinity knots pop up a lot in Celtic artwork. Sometimes called a "Triquetra", the knot is an ancient Celtic symbol thought to describe the three faces of the triple Goddess: Mother, Maiden, and Crone, and was adopted by the Christians to symbolize the three aspects of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Jan, creative director of this here wedding thing, scholar of many different religious and spiritual disciplines, and a pure product of the Razorfish "let's re-brand and develop your digital identity" attitude of Silicon Valley dot-com, set out to brand McViking.com. This is what he came up with. Others may have come up with it, too (Trinity knots are everywhere in Celtic art), but he really did come up with this himself. Sinead and Jan call it their "wedding star".
The symbolism is simple: two everlasting trinity knots in an eternal embrace. Each one a whole unto itself, yet together they form something bigger and more beautiful.
...and how about those funky stick-like things along the top? or the Tolkien-like letters? Wait: do y'all speak Elvish like that kid from Gene Simmons Rock School?
heh. Both the Runes up at the top and the Ogham letters under the logo spell "Sinead Mc Donnell and Jan Borgersen". The Runes are Norse/Germanic, the Ogham is Irish, and both alphabets were revered for their magic. Yes, we like stuff like that, and yes, Sinead speaks Irish, which Jan swears is really Elvish. If he can find some beginners lessons to download to his iPod, perhaps he will learn the language, too.