Written by Dyami Millarson
The Germanic peoples reckoned the age of beings in winters because winters were the hardest to survive, while summer the easiest. A cow could be said, for example, to be three winters old; a dog 6 winters; a horse 4 winters; a human child 5 winters.
The fact Germanic peoples reckoned age in winters speaks volumes about how they perceive the winter; they dreaded/respected the winter and looked up to the beings that came out of it alive.
Viking Religion 