In primary school we had to sing hymns in assembly, even when English class started the day. This was before school in Norway was de-christened.
One particular hymn was always a bit confusing to me. It referred to a character called “Hinnis Hans”, who apparently holds the planet.
As someone raised in an irreligious household I just assumed he must be another member of the Christian pantheon, along with the Jesus, the Father, Mary—I grew up in a ghetto behind the Catholic hospital of St. Joe’s, where my father was a physician—the Holy Ghost, the Devil, and so on. He would be a sort of an Atlas-like figure, presumably, responsible for carrying reality in Christian mythology.
It took me years to realise the line is “He’s got the whole wide world *in his hands*.”, and it’s just another song about our singular Christian God. I was kind of disappointed.
I miss Hinnis Hans.
And, for my Norwegian readers, a bonus. I never quite understood why Ms. Hanna Valle was the most beautiful. In fact, I thought her a really ugly woman. Getting older I saw the lyrics for the first time. ‘Den skjønneste er *Han av alle*.’ The most beautiful is *He of all*.