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Nisse (folklore)

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This article is about the mythical creature tomte/nisse. For the band, see Tomte (band).

[broken anchor]

A tomtenisse made of salt dough. A common Scandinavian Christmas decoration, 2004.
Modern vision of a nisse, 2007.

A nisse (Danish: [ˈne̝sə], Norwegian: [ˈnɪ̂sːə]), tomte (Swedish: [ˈtɔ̂mːtɛ]), tomtenisse, or tonttu (Finnish: [ˈtontːu]) is a household spirit from Nordic folklore which has always been described as a small human-like creature wearing a red cap and gray clothing, doing house and stable chores, and expecting to be rewarded at least once a year around winter solstice (yuletide), with the gift of its favorite food, the porridge.

In the 19th century it became increasingly associated with the and the Christmas season and Christmas gift giving, its pictorial depiction strongly influenced by American Santa Claus Christmas cards in some opinion, evolving into the Julenisse

The nisse is one of the most familiar creatures of Scandinavian folklore, and he has appeared in many works of Scandinavian literature.

The nisse is frequently introduced to English readership as an "elf" or "gnome"; the Christmas nisse often bears resemblance to the garden gnome.

Nomenclature

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See also: Nis Puk
A nisse eating from a bowl of Christmas porridge.
A nisse eating Christmas porridge.
―Illustration by Vincent Stoltenberg Lerche.[1]
A nisse as stable-boy.
A nisse as stable-boy.
―Illustration by Hans Gude. Asbjørnsen (1896) Norske Folke- og Huldre-Eventyr[2]

The word nisse is a pan-Scandinavian term.[3] Its modern usage in Norway into the 19th century is evidenced in Asbjørnsen's collection.[1][2] The Norwegian tufte is also equated to nisse or tomte.[4][5] In Danish the form husnisse ("house nisse") also occurs.

Other synonyms include the Swedish names tomtenisse and tomtekarl [6] (cf. § Additional synonyms). The names tomtegubbe and tomtebonde ("tomte farmer") have occurred in Sweden and parts of Norway close to Sweden.[6] The Finnish tonttu [fi] is borrowed from Swedish (cf. § Etymology), but the Finnish spirit has gained a distinct identity and is no longer synonymous.[7][8] There is also the tonttu-ukko (lit. "house lot man") but this is a literary Christmas elf.[9]

There are also localized appellations, in and tuftekall in Gudbrandsdalen and Nordland regions of Norway[6] (cf. § Dialects).

Other variants include the Swedish names tomtenisse and tomtekarl; also in Sweden (and Norwegian regions proximate to Sweden) tomtegubbe and tomtebonde ("tomte farmer"),[6] (cf. § Additional synonyms) and § Near synonyms ( haugkall. "mound man", etc.).

English translations

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The term nisse in the native Norwegian is retained in Pat Shaw Iversen's English translation (1960), appended with the parenthetical remark that it is a household spirit,[10]

Various English language publications also introduce the nisse as an "elf" or "gnome".[12][a]

In the past, H. L. Braekstad [no] (1881) chose to substitute nisse with "brownie".[1][2] Brynildsen [no]'s dictionary (1927) glossed nisse as 'goblin' or 'hobgoblin'.[14]

In the English editions of the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales the Danish word nisse has been translated as 'goblin', for example, in the tale "The Goblin at the Grocer's".[15]

Dialects

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Forms such as tufte have been seen as dialect. Aasen noted the variant form tuftekall to be prevalent in the Nordland and Trondheim areas of Norway,[4] and the tale "Tuftefolket på Sandflesa" published by Asbjørnsen is localized in Træna Municipality in Nordland.[b] Another synonym is tunkall ("yard fellow"[17]) also found in the north and west.[18] Faye also gives Dano-Norwegian forms toft-vætte or tomte-vætte.[19]

Thus ostensibly tomte prevails in eastern Norway (and adjoining Sweden),[20][6] although there are caveats attached to such over-generalizations by linguist Oddrun Grønvik [no].[22][c] It might also be conceded that tomte is more a Swedish term than Norwegian.[23] In Scania, Halland and Blekinge within Sweden, the tomte or nisse is also known as goanisse (i.e godnisse, goenisse 'good nisse').[24][26]

Reidar Thoralf Christiansen remarked that the "belief in the nisse is confined to the south and east" of Norway,[18] and theorized the nisse was introduced to Norway (from Denmark) in the 17th century, but there is already mention of "Nisse pugen" in a Norwegian legal tract c. 1600 or earlier, and Emil Birkeli [no] (1938) believed the introduction to be as early as 13 to 14c.[27] The Norsk Allkunnebok encyclopedia was of the view that nisse was introduced from Denmark relatively late, and that native names found in Norway such as tomte, tomtegubbe, tufte, tuftekall, gardvord, etc., date much older.[3][28]

Etymology

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It has repeatedly been conjectured that nisse might be a variant of "nixie" or nix[29][30][31] but a detractor notes this is a water sprite and the proper Dano-Norwegian cognate would be nøkk, not nisse.[32] Thus the term nisse may be derived from Old Norse niðsi, meaning "dear little relative".[33] The common explanation in Denmark is that it is the diminutive form of Niels, as Danes in 19th century used to refer to a Nisse as 'Lille Niels' or 'Niels Gårdbo'.[24][17][3]

The tomte ("homestead man"), gardvord ("farm guardian"), and tunkall ("yard fellow") bear names that associated them with the farmstead.[17] The Finnish tonttu is also borrowed from Swedish tomte, but "later tradition no longer consider these identical".[7]

Additional synonyms

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Norwegian gardvord is a synonym for nisse,[31][34][d] or has become conflated with it.[36] Likewise turvord is a synonym.[31]

Other synonyms for nisse are Danish gaardbuk ("farm buck") and husbuk ("housebuck") where buck could mean billygoat or ram.[37][39]

Near synonyms

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According to Oddrun Grønvik, the nisse has a distinct connotation and is not synonymous with the haugkall or haugebonde (from the Old Norse haugr 'mound'), although the latter has become indistinguishable with tuss, as evident from the form haugtuss.[40][e]

Some commentators have equated or closely connected the tomte/nisse to the haugbonde (<Old Norse: haubúi "mound dweller").[44][45] However there is caution served against completely equating the tomte/nissse with the mound dwellers of lore[40] (Cf. § Possible origins). The haugbonde is said to be the ghost of the first inhabitant of the farmstead, he who cleared the tomt (house lot), who subsequently becomes its guardian.[46] This haugbonde has also connected with the Danish/Norwegian tuntræt (modern spelling: tuntre, "farm tree") or in Swedish vårdträd [sv] ("ward tree") cult.[43][42][46]

Origin theories

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The story of propitiating a household deity for boons in Iceland occurs in the "Story of Þorvaldr Koðránsson the Far-Travelled" (Þorvalds þættur víðförla) and the Kristni saga where the 10th century figure attended to his father Koðrán giving up worship of the heathen idol (called ármaðr in the saga) embodied in stone;[47] this has been suggested as a precursor to the nisse by Feilberg,[48] though there are different opinions on what label or category should be applied to this spirit (e.g., alternatively as Old Norse landvættr "land spirit").[49]

Henning Frederik Feilberg argued that in Christianized medieval Denmark the puge (cog. Old Norse puki, German puk cf. Nis Puk; English puck) was the common name for the ancient pagan deities, regarded as devils or fallen angels. Whereas Feilberg here only drew a vague parallel between puge and nisse as nocturnally active,[48] this puge or puk in medieval writings may be counted as the oldest documentation of nisse, by another name, according to Henning Eichberg.[50][37] But Claude Lecouteux handles puk or puge as distinct from niss[e].[51]

Feilberg made the fine point of distinction that tomte actually meant a planned building site (where as tun was the plot with a house already built on it), so that the Swedish tomtegubbe, Norwegian tuftekall, tomtevætte, etc. originally denoted the jordvætten ("earth wights").[52] The thrust of Feilberg's argument considering the origins of the nisse was a combination of a nature spirit and an ancestral ghost (of the pioneer who cleared the land) guarding the family or particular plot.[53] The nature spirits―i.e., tomtevætte ("site wights"), haugbue ("howe/mound dwellers"),[52] "underground wights" (undervætte, underjordiske vætte),[54] or dwarves, or vætte of the forests―originally freely moved around Nature, occasionally staying for short or long periods at people's homes, and these transitioned into house-wights (husvætte) that took up permanent residence at homes.[52] In one tale, the sprite is called nisse but is encountered but by a tree stump (not in the house like a bona fide nisse), and this is given as an example of the folk-belief at its transitional stage.[55] But there is also the aspect of the ghost of the pioneer who first cleared the land, generally abiding in the woods or heaths he cleared, or seeking a place at the family hearth, eventually thought to outright dwelling in the home, taking interest in the welfare of the homestead, its crops, and the family members.[56]

There are two 14th century Old Swedish attestations to the tomta gudhane "the gods of the building site". In the "Själinna thröst" ("Comfort of the Soul"), a woman sets the table after her meal for the deities, and if the offering is consumed, she is certain her livestock will be taken care of. In the Revelations of Saint Birgitta (Birgittas uppenbarelser), it is recorded that the priests forbade their congregation from providing offerings to the tompta gudhi or "tomte gods", apparently perceiving this to be competition to their entitlement to the tithe (Revelationes, book VI, ch. 78).[57][59][60][f] There is not enough here to precisely narrow down the nature of the deity, whether it was land spirit (tomta rå) or a household spirit (gårdsrå).[58]

Dæmon or a tomte/nisse sweeping stable
Dæmon or a tomte/nisse[62][37] sweeping the stable with broom[g]
—Olaus Magnus (1555)[65]
The demon on the colored map
The dæmon on the colored map
—Olaus Magnus (1539) Carta Marina.

Several helper-demons were illustrated in the Swedish writer Olaus Magnus's 1555 work, including the center figure of a spiritual being laboring at a stable by night (cf. fig. right).[63][64] It reprints the same stable-worker picture found on the map Carta Marina, B, k.[64] The prose annotation to the map, Ain kurze Auslegung und Verklerung (1539) writes that these unnamed beings in the stables and mine-works were more prevalent in the pre-Christian period than the current time.[66] The sector "B" of this map where the drawing occurs spanned Finnmark (under Norway) and West Lappland (under Sweden).[66] While Olaus does not explicitly give the local vernacular (Scandinavian) names, the woodcuts probably represent the tomte or nisse according to modern commentators.[67][62][37]

Later folklore says that a tomte is the soul of a slave during heathen times, placed in charge of the maintenance of the household's farmland and fields while the master was away on viking raids, and was duty-bound to continue until doomsday.[68]

Appearance

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Nisse on Christmas Card (1885)

The Norwegian nisse was no bigger than a child, dressed in gray, wearing a red, pointy hat (pikhue = pikkelhue;[69] a hue is a soft brimless hat) according to Faye.[70]

In Denmark also, nisser are often seen as beardless, wearing grey and red woolens with a red cap.

The tomte, according to Afzelius's description was about the size of a one year-old child, but with an elderly wizened face, wearing a little red cap on his head and a gray[71] wadmal (coarse woolen)[73] jacket, short breeches, and ordinary shoes such as a peasant would wear.[68][h][i]

The tonttu of Finland was said to be one-eyed,[77] and likewise in Swedish-speaking areas of Finland, hence the stock phrase "Enögd som tomten (one-eyed like the tomten)".[78]

There are also folktales where he is believed to be a shapeshifter able to take a shape far larger than an adult man, Since nisser are thought to be skilled in illusions and sometimes able to make themselves invisible, one was unlikely to get more than brief glimpses of him no matter what he looked like. Norwegian folklore states that he has four fingers, and sometimes with pointed ears and eyes reflecting light in the dark, like those of a cat.[citation needed]

Nisser on a windowsill

The Tomte's height is anywhere from 60 cm (2 ft) to no taller than 90 cm (3 ft) according to one Swedish-American source,[79] whereas the tomte (pl. tomtarna) were just 1 aln tall (an aln or Swedish ell being just shy of 60 cm or 2 ft), according to one local Swedish tradition.[j][80]

Shapeshifter

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The nisse may be held to have the ability to transform into animals such as the buck-goat.[37][81]

In one tale localized at Oxholm [da], the nisse (here called the gaardbuk) falsely announces a cow birthing to the girl assigned to care for it, then tricks her by changing into the shape of a calf. She stuck him with a pitchfork which the sprite counted as three blows (per each prong), and avenged the girl by making her lie precarious on a plank on the barn's ridge while she was sleeping.[82][83]

Offerings

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Even in the mid 19th century, there were still Christian men who made offerings to the tomtar spirit on Christmas day. The offering (called gifwa dem lön or "give them a reward") consisted of pieces of wadmal (coarse wool), tobacco, and a shovelful of dirt.[25]

Porridge-lover

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One is also expected to please nissewith gifts (see Blót) a traditional gift is a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve.

The Norwegian household, in order to gain favor of the nisse, sets out under the catwalks[85] sweet porridge, cake, beer, etc. on Christmas eve or each Thursday evening. But he is very picky about the taste.[70] Some (later) authorities specified that it is the rømmegrøt (var. rømmegraut, "sour cream porridge") should be the treat to serve the Norwegian nisse.[86][87]

The nisse likes his porridge with a pat of butter on the top. In a tale that is often retold, a farmer put the butter underneath the porridge. When the nisse of his farmstead found that the butter was missing, he was filled with rage and killed the cow resting in the barn. But, as he thus became hungry, he went back to his porridge (rice pudding) and ate it, and so found the butter at the bottom of the bowl. Full of grief, he then hurried to search the lands to find another farmer with an identical cow, and replaced the former with the latter.[88][89][90]

In another tale localized in Hallingdal, Norway, a maid decided to eat the porridge herself, and ended up severely beaten by the nisse. It sang the words: "Since you have eaten up the porridge for the tomte (nisse), you shall with the tomte have to dance!"[k] The farmer found her nearly lifeless the morning after.[91][l]

In Sweden, the Christmas porridge or gruel (julgröt) was traditionally placed on the corner of the cottage-house, or the grain-barn (lode), the barn, or stable; and in Finland the porridge was also put out on the grain-kiln (rin) or sauna.[92] This gruel is preferably offered with butter or honey.[92] This is basically the annual salary to the spirit who is being hired as "the broom for the whole year".[93] If the household neglects the gift,[92] the contract is broken, and the tomte may very well leave the farm or house.[92]

According to one anecdote, a peasant used to put out food on the stove for the tomtar or nissar. When the priest inquired as to the fate of the food, the peasant replied that Satan collects it all in a kettle in hell, used to boil the souls for all eternity. The practice was halted.[25] The bribe could also be bread, cheese, leftovers from the Christmas meal, or even clothing (cf. below).[92] A piece of bread or cheese, placed under the turf, may suffice as the bribe to the tomtar/nissar ("good nisse") according to the folklore of Blekinge.[25]

In Denmark, it is said that the nisse or nis puge (nis pug) particularly favors sweet buckwheat porridge (boghvedegrød), though in some telling it is just ordinary porridge or flour porridge that is requested.[94][95]

Gift clothing

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In certain areas of Sweden and Finland, the Christmas gift consisted of a set of clothing, a pair of mittens or a pair of shoes at a minimum. In Uppland (Skokloster parish [sv]), the folk generously offered a fur coat and a red cap such as was suitable for winter attire.[96]

Conversely, the commonplace motif where the "House spirit leaves when gift of clothing is left for it"[m] might be exhibited: According to one Swedish tale, a certain Danish woman (danneqwinna) noticed that her supply of meal she sifted seemed to last unusually long, although she kept consuming large amounts of it. But once when she happened to go to the shed, she spied through the keyhole or narrow crack in the door and saw the tomte in a shabby gray outfit sifting over the meal-tub (mjölkaret). So she made a new gray kirtle (kjortel) for him and left it hanging on the tub. The tomte wore it and was delighted, but then sang a ditty proclaiming he will do no more sifting as it may dirty his new clothes.[74] A similar tale about a nisse grinding grain at the mill is localized at the farmstead of Vaker [no] in Ringerike, Norway. It is widespread and has been assigned Migratory Legend index ML 7015.[97][f]

As helpers

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According to tradition, the nisse lives in the houses and barns of the farmstead, and secretly acts as their guardian.[98] If treated well, they protect the family and animals from evil and misfortune,[99] and may also aid the chores and farm work.[100] However, they are known to be short tempered, especially when offended. Once insulted, they will usually play tricks, steal items and even maim or kill livestock.[101]

Harvesting

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In one anecdote, two Swedish neighboring farmers owned similar plots of land, the same quality of meadow and woodland, but one living in a red-colored, tarred house with well-kept walls and sturdy turf roof grew richer by the year, while the other living in a moss-covered house, whose bare walls rotted, and the roof leaked, grew poorer each year. Many would give opinion that the successful man had a tomte in his house.[68][103] The tomte may be seen heaving just a single straw or ear of corn with great effort, but a man who scoffed at the modest gain lost his tomte and his fortune foundered; a poor novice farmer valued each ear tomte brought, and prospered.[68][104][105]

Animal husbandry

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The Norwegian nisse will gather hay, even stealing from neighbors to benefit the farmer he favors, often causing quarrels. He will also take the hay from the manger (Danish: krybbe) of other horses to feed his favorite. One of his pranks played on the milkmaid is to hold down the hay so firmly the girl is not able to extract it, and abruptly let go so she falls flat on her back; the pleased nisse then explodes into laughter. Another prank is to set the cows loose.[70]

As the protector of the farm and caretaker of livestock, the tomte’s retributions for bad practices range from small pranks like a hard strike to the ear[25] to more severe punishment like killing of livestock or ruining of the farm's fortune.

The nisse is connected to farm animals in general, but his most treasured animal is the horse.[106] The stable-hand needed to remain punctual and feed the horse (or cattle) both at 4 in the morning and 10 at night, or risk being thrashed by the tomte upon entering the stable.[25] Belief has it that one could see which horse was the tomte's favourite as it will be especially healthy and well taken care of.[107] [108] Sometimes the tomte will even braid its hair and tail. Undoing these braids without permission can mean misfortune or angering the tomte.

Carpentry

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The tomte is also closely associated with carpentry. It is said that when the carpenters have taken their break from their work for a meal, the tomte could be seen working on the house with their little axes.[25] It was also customary in Swedish weddings to have not just the priest but also a carpenter present, and he will work on the newlyweds' abode. Everyone then listens for the noises that the tomtegubbe helping out with the construction, which is a sign that the new household has been blessed with its presence.[109]

Wrath and retribution

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An illustration made by Gudmund Stenersen of an angry tomte stealing hay from a farmer.

Despite his small size, nisse possess immense strength.[106] They are easily offended by carelessness, lack of proper respect, and lazy farmers.[110]

Observance of traditions is thought to be important to the nisse, as they do not like changes in the way things are done at their farms. They are also easily offended by rudeness; farm workers swearing, urinating in the barns, or not treating the creatures well can frequently lead to a sound thrashing by the tomte/nisse. If anyone spills something on the floor in the nisse's house, it is considered proper to shout a warning to the tomte below.

Some stories tell how the nisse could drive people mad or bite them. The bite from a nisse is poisonous, and otherworldly healing is usually required. As the story goes, a girl who was bitten withered and died before help arrived.

Exorcism

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Although the tomte (def. pl. tomtarna) were generally regarded as benevolent (compared to the rå or troll), some of the tales show church influence in likening the tomte to devils. Consequently, the stories about their expulsions are recounted as "exorcisms".[111]

Similar folklore

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See also: Little people (mythology) § Native American folklore

The nisse shares many aspects with other Scandinavian wights such as the Swedish vättar (from the Old Norse vættr), Danish vætter, Norwegian vetter or tusser. These beings are social, however, whereas the nisse is always solitary (though he is now often pictured with other nisser). Often comparable to the Latin American "Duende". Synonyms of nisse includes gårdbo ("farmyard-dweller"),[112][113] gardvord ("yard-warden", see vörðr) in all Scandinavian languages, and god bonde ("good farmer"), gårdsrå ("yard-spirit") in Swedish and Norwegian and fjøsnisse ("barn gnome") in Norwegian. The nisse could also take a ship for his home, and be called skibsnisse, equivalent to German klabautermann",[114] and Swedish skeppstomte.[115] In Finland, the sauna has a saunatonttu. Also related is the Nis Puk,[116] which is widespread in the area of Southern Jutland/Schleswig, in the Danish-German border area.

In other European folklore, there are many beings similar to the nisse, such as the Scots and English brownie, Northumbrian English hob, West Country pixie, the German Heinzelmännchen, the Dutch kabouter or the Slavic domovoi. Usage in folklore in expressions such as Nisse god dräng ("Nisse good lad") is suggestive of Robin Goodfellow.[117]

Modern Nisse

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See also: Santa Claus
Swedish Christmas card featuring tomte
Julbocken by John Bauer (1912)
Little Swedish tomte homemade of cork and wool with a Christmas wish, December 2023.

The household nisse/tomte later evolved into the Christmas Jultomten of Sweden and Julenisse of Denmark/Norway (Danish: Julenisserne, Norwegian: Julenissen)[118] or Finnish: Joulutonttu.[119])

In the modern conception, the Christmas nisse will deliver gifts at the door, in accordance with the modern-day tradition of the visiting Santa Claus, enters homes to hand out presents.[120] This original "household spirit" was no "guest", but the modern jultomte was a reinvention of the spirit as an annual visitor bearing gifts.[92] He has also been transformed from a diminutive creature into an adult-size being.[60] In Denmark, it was during the 1840s the farm's nisse became julenisse, the bearer of Yuletide presents, through the artistic depictions of Lorenz Frølich (1840), Johan Thomas Lundbye (1845), and H. C. Ley (1849).[121]

Swedish Christmas card by Jenny Nyström, circa 1899.

The image shift in Sweden (to the white-bearded[122] and red-capped[123]) is generally credited to illustrator Jenny Nyström's 1881 depiction of the tomte accompanying Viktor Rydberg's poem Tomten,[n] first published in the Ny Illustrerad Tidning magazine[60] She crafted the (facial) appearance of her tomte using her own father as her model, though she also extracted features from elderly Lappish men.[123][124]

Carl Wilhelm von Sydow (1935?) charged that the make-over of the tomte came about through a misconception or confusion with English Christmas cards featuring a red-capped and bearded Santa Claus (Father Christmas) wearing a fur coat.[125] Nyström squarely denied her depiction of the tomte had introduced adulterated foreign material, but she or others could have emulated Danish precursors like the aforementioned Hans Christian Ley in the 1850s,[126] and it is said she did construct her image based on Swedish and Danish illustrations.[127]

Herman Hofberg [sv]'s anthology of Swedish folklore (1882), illustrated by Nyström and other artists, writes in the text that the tomte wears a "pointy red hat" ("spetsig röd mössa").[128] Nyström in 1884 began illustrating the tomte handing out Christmas presents.[127] The equivalent to the Swedish jultomte was in Norway called julenisse.

The tomte is accompanied by the mythical Yule goat (Julbocken). The pair appear on Christmas Eve, knocking on the doors of people's homes, handing out presents.[129][60] The tomte/nisse is also commonly seen with a pig, another popular Christmas symbol in Scandinavia, probably related to fertility and their role as guardians of the farmstead. It is customary to leave behind a bowl of porridge with butter for the tomte/nisse, in gratitude for the services rendered.[130]

Gradually, commercialism has made him look more and more like the American Santa Claus, but the Swedish jultomte, the Norwegian julenisse, the Danish julemand and the Finnish joulupukki (in Finland he is still called the Yule Goat, although his animal features have disappeared) still has features and traditions that are rooted in the local culture. He doesn't live on the North Pole, but perhaps in a forest nearby, or in Denmark he lives on Greenland, and in Finland he lives in Lapland; he doesn't come down the chimney at night, but through the front door, delivering the presents directly to the children, just like the Yule Goat did; he is not overweight; and even if he nowadays sometimes rides in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, instead of just walking around with his sack, his reindeer don't fly—and in Sweden, Denmark and Norway some still put out a bowl of porridge for him on Christmas Eve. He is still often pictured on Christmas cards and house and garden decorations as the little man of Jenny Nyström's imagination, often with a horse or cat, or riding on a goat or in a sled pulled by a goat, and for many people the idea of the farm tomte still lives on, if only in the imagination and literature.

The use of the word tomte in Swedish is now somewhat ambiguous, but often when one speaks of jultomten (definite article) or tomten (definite article) one is referring to the more modern version, while if one speaks of tomtar (plural) or tomtarna (plural, definite article) one could also likely be referring to the more traditional tomtar. The traditional word tomte lives on in an idiom, referring to the human caretaker of a property (hustomten), as well as referring to someone in one's building who mysteriously does someone a favour, such as hanging up one's laundry. A person might also wish for a little hustomte to tidy up for them. A tomte stars in one of author Jan Brett's children's stories, Hedgie's Surprise.[131] When adapting the mainly English-language concept of tomten having helpers (sometimes in a workshop), tomtenisse can also correspond to the Christmas elf, either replacing it completely, or simply lending its name to the elf-like depictions in the case of translations.

Modern adaptations

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An angry tomte is featured in the popular children's book by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils). The tomte turns the naughty boy Nils into a pixie in the beginning of the book, and Nils then travels across Sweden on the back of a goose.

Nisser/tomte often appear in Christmas calendar TV series and other modern fiction. In some versions the tomte are portrayed as very small; in others they are human-sized. The nisse usually exist hidden from humans and are often able to use magic.

The 2018 animated series Hilda, as well as the graphic novel series it is based on, features nisse as a species. One nisse named Tontu is a recurring character, portrayed as a small, hairy humanoid who lives unseen in the main character's home.

Garden gnome

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The appearance traditionally ascribed to a nisse or tomte resembles that of the garden gnome figurine for outdoors,[132] which are in turn, also called trädgårdstomte in Swedish,[133] havenisse in Danish, hagenisse in Norwegian[134][135] and puutarhatonttu in Finnish.[citation needed]

See also

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Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ As a point of reference, the 19th century Norwegian linguist Knud Knudsen glosses the "gnome" in the vaguest sense has been glossed variously as nisse or vaette (wight), tus (giant).[13]
  2. ^ The tale "Tuftefolket på Sandflesa" describes its setting as Trena, and Sandflesa is explained as a shifting bank off its shore.[16]
  3. ^ She specifically addresses the generalization "tufte (-kall) har utbreeinga si noko nord- og vestafor tomte (-gubbe)," i.e., tufte(-kall) being in use to the north and west of regions where tomte(-gubbe) is prevalent, and states there is too scanty a material ("lite tilfang") to build on. Her study concludes that in general, current literature "does not give an accurate picture of their distribution [i.e., of the geographical distribution of the usage of varying terms for nisse] in the 19th century".[21]
  4. ^ Or synonymous with tunkall, as Christiansen comments,[35] but this concerns the tale "The Gardvord Beats up the Troll" collected by Ivar Aasen, and Aasen's dictionary glosses gardvord as 'nisse, vætte', as a thing believed to reside on the farm (Danish: gård).[34]
  5. ^ Contrary to some commentators such as the writer Tor Åge Bringsværd who includes tusse among the synonyms for nisse.[41]
  6. ^ a b In medieval Germany the household spirit schretlein or trut (Trud) was offered pairs of little red shoes, against Christian teachings, according to Martin von Amberg (c. 1350–1400).[61]
  7. ^ Detail of woodcut: full view
  8. ^ It is remarked that the tomte is outfitted in little gray jackets (not the blue-yellow national colors of Sweden), and the troll (trålen) sings: "Surn skall jag inför Ronungen gå /Som inte år klädd, utan bara i walmaret grå? [Sorely do I go forth to Ranungen [sv] / Who am clad in mere wadmal of gray]".[74]
  9. ^ The knee breeches with stockings were still the common male dress in rural Scandinavia in the 17th, 18th, or 19th century.
  10. ^ While a gaste was 2 alnar tall.[80]
  11. ^ Reads "tomten" instead of "nissen" in the original Norwegian, and the two lines are repeated again in a refrain.
  12. ^ In a variant, the Norwegian girl brought the Christmas porridge mockingly, and he danced she was found lying dead in the barn (the original "liggende sprængt" appears to mean "lying all broken up, as if exploded").[70]
  13. ^ Stith-Thompson's motif index F405.11. "House spirit leaves when gift of clothing is left for it".
  14. ^ In the poem, the tomte is alone awake in the cold Christmas night, pondering the mysteries of life and death.

References

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Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Asbjørnsen (1896) [1879]. "En gammeldags juleaften", pp. 1–19; Braekstad (1881) tr. "An Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve". pp. 1–18.
  2. ^ a b c Asbjørnsen (1896) [1879]. "En aftenstund i et proprietærkjøkken", pp. 263–284; Braekstad (1881) tr. "An Evening in the Squire's Kitchen". pp. 248–268.
  3. ^ a b c Sudman, Arnulv, ed. (1948). "Nisse". Norsk allkunnebok. Vol. 8. Oslo: Fonna forlag. p. 232.
  4. ^ a b Aasen (1873) Norsk ordbog s.v. "Tufte". 'vætte, nisse, unseen neighbor, in the majority ellefolk (elf-folk) or underjordiske [no] (underground folk) but also (regionally) in the Nordland and Trondheim tuftefolk'.
  5. ^ Brynildsen (1927) Norsk-engelsk ordbok s.v. "tuftekall", see tunkall; tuften, see Tomten.
  6. ^ a b c d e Olrik & Ellekilde (1926), 1: 304.
  7. ^ a b Mansikka, Viljo [in Russian] (1916). "Kritika i biblíografíya: finskoy etnograficheskoy literatury" Критика и библіографія: Изъ финской этнографической литературы [Criticism and bibliography: From Finnish ethnographic literature]. Zhivaya Starina Живая старина (in Russian). 25 (4): 200.
  8. ^ Holmberg, Uno (1927). "Chapter I. Section x. Household Spirits". Finno-Ugric, Siberian [Mythology]. Mythology of all races 4. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America. pp. 171–172.
  9. ^ Haavio, Martti (1942). Suomalaiset kodinhaltiat [Finnish household gods]. Helsinki: Werner Söderström. p. 147. tonttu - ukko selvästi on kirjallislähtöinen » joulutonttu
  10. ^ Christiansen (2016), p. 137.
  11. ^ Crump, William D. (2022). "Norway". The Christmas Encyclopedia (4 ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 386. ISBN 9781476647593.
  12. ^ e.g., Crump's Christmas Encyclopedia (2022).[11]
  13. ^ Knudsen, Knud (1880). "Gnome". TUnorsk og norsk, eller, fremmedords avløsning. Christiania: Albert Cammermeyer. p. 275.
  14. ^ Brynildsen (1927) Norsk-engelsk ordbok s.v. "2nisse", '(hob)goblin'.
  15. ^ Binding (2014). Chapter 9, §6 and endnote 95.
  16. ^ Christiansen (2016) [1960]. "The Tufte-Folk on Sandflesa". pp. 61–66.
  17. ^ a b c Kvideland & Sehmsdorf (1988), p. 238.
  18. ^ a b Christiansen (2016), pp. 141, lc.
  19. ^ a b Faye (1833), p. 45–47; tr. Thorpe (1851), p. 118
  20. ^ Stokker (2000), p. 54.
  21. ^ a b "9810010 Grønvik, Oddrun.. Ordet nisset, etc.", Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, 32 (4): 2058, 1998, it is argued that the current material does not give an accurate picture of their distribution in the 19th century
  22. ^ Grønvik, Oddrun (1997), p. 154, summarized in English in Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (1998).[21]
  23. ^ Knutsen & Riisøy (2007), p. 48 and note 28.
  24. ^ a b Olrik & Ellekilde (1926), 1: 294.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g Afzelius (1844), 2: 190–191; Thorpe (1851), II: 92–94
  26. ^ The tomte (tomtar) is also called the nisse (plural: nissar) [in Blekinge].[25]
  27. ^ Knutsen & Riisøy (2007), p. 51 and note 35.
  28. ^ Also quoted in Grønvik, Ottar (1997), p. 130
  29. ^ Andersen, Vilhelm (1890). "Gentagelsen. En Sproglig Studie". Dania. 1: 206.
  30. ^ Sayers, William (1997). "The Irish Bóand-Nechtan Myth in the Light of Scandinavian Evidence" (PDF). Scandinavian-Canadian Studies. 2: 66.
  31. ^ a b c Falk & Torp (1906) s. v. "nisse".
  32. ^ Binding (2014). endnote 23 to Chapter 4,. Citing Briggs, Katherine (1976). A Dictionary of Fairies.
  33. ^ Grønvik, Ottar (1997), pp. 129, 144–145:"Norwegian: den lille/kjære slektningen".
  34. ^ a b Aasen (1873) Norsk ordbog s.v. "gardvord".
  35. ^ Christiansen (2016), p. 143.
  36. ^ Bringsværd (1970), p. 89.
  37. ^ a b c d e Eichberg, Henning (2018). "Chapter 11 Nisser: The playful small people of Denmark". In Larsen, Signe Højbjerre (ed.). Play in Philosophy and Social Thought. Routledge. p. 292. ISBN 9780429838699.
  38. ^ Mannhardt, Johann Wilhelm Emanuel (1868). Die Korndämonen: Beitrag zur germanischen Sittenkunde. Berlin: Dümmler (Harrwitz und Gossmann). p. 41, note 54).
  39. ^ Mannhardt[38] citing Grundtvig (1854), 1: 155, 126, 142.
  40. ^ a b Grønvik, Oddrun (1997), p. 154.
  41. ^ Bringsværd (1970), p. 89. "the nisse, also known under the name of tusse, tuftebonde, tuftekall, tomte and gobonde".
  42. ^ a b Gundarsson, Kveldúlf (2021). Amulets, Stones & Herbs. The Three Little Sisters. p. 424. ISBN 978-1-989033-62-3.
  43. ^ a b Feilberg, Henning Frederik (1904). Jul: Julemørkets löndom, juletro, juleskik. København: Schubotheske forlag. pp. 18–20.
  44. ^ Kveldúlf Gundarsson (Stephan Grundy)[42] citing Feilberg[43]
  45. ^ Simpson (1994), p. 173 citing Andreas Faye (1833) Norske Sagn, pp. 42–45, though this seems wanting, except for "Haug børnene (mound children)" on p. 37).
  46. ^ a b Lecouteux (2015), p. PT151.
  47. ^ Lecouteux (2015), p. PT122–123.
  48. ^ a b Feilberg (1918), pp. 16–18.
  49. ^ McKinnell, John; Ashurst, David; Kick, Donata (2006). The Fantastic in Old Norse/Icelandic Literature: Sagas and the British Isles : Preprint Papers of the Thirteenth International Saga Conference, Durham and York, 6th-12th August, 2006. Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Durham University. p. 299. ISBN 9780955333507.
  50. ^ Eichberg takes an example from the medieval Lucidarius, Danish translated version, printed 1510. See Nis Puk.
  51. ^ a b Lecouteux, Claude (2016). "NISS". Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic. Simon and Schuster. Fig. 61. ISBN 9781620554814.
  52. ^ a b c d Feilberg (1918), p. 13.
  53. ^ Feilberg (1918) "2. Nisseskikkelsens Udspring [Origins of the nisse figure]", pp. 10–15.
  54. ^ Feilberg (1918), pp. 12–13.
  55. ^ Tale localized at Rønnebæksholm outside Næstved. The nisse wore green clothes and a red hat.[52]
  56. ^ Feilberg (1918), p. 14.
  57. ^ Schön (1996), pp. 11–12.
  58. ^ a b Lecouteux, Claude (2015). "16 The Contract with the Spirits". Demons and Spirits of the Land: Ancestral Lore and Practices. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781620554005.
  59. ^ Lecouteux,[58] citing Liungman, Waldemar (1961) Das Rå und der Herr der Tiere.
  60. ^ a b c d Andersson, Lara (2018-12-22). "The Swedish Tomte". Swedish Press. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  61. ^ Hagen, Friedrich Heinrich von der (1837). "Heidnischer Aberglaube aus dem Gewissenspiegel des Predigers Martin von Amberg". Germania. 2: 65.
  62. ^ a b Lecouteux, Claude (2016). "TOMTE⇒HOUSEHOLD/PLACE SPIRITS, NISS". Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic. Simon and Schuster. Fig. 88. ISBN 9781620554814.
  63. ^ a b Olaus Magnus (1555). "Liber III. Cap. XXII. De ministerio dæmonum". Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus. Rome: Giovanni M. Viotto. pp. 127–128.
  64. ^ a b c Olaus Magnus (1998). "Book Three, Chapter Twenty-two: On the services performed by demons". In Foote, Peter (ed.). Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus: Romæ 1555 [Description of the Northern Peoples: Rome 1555]. Fisher, Peter;, Higgens, Humphrey (trr.). Hakluyt Society. p. 182 and notes (p. 191). ISBN 0-904180-43-3.
  65. ^ Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus Book 3, Ch. 22. "On the services performed by demons".[63][64]
  66. ^ a b Olaus Magnus (1887) [1539]. "Die ächte Karte des Olaus Magnus vom Jahre 1539 nach dem Exemplar de Münchener Staatsbibliothek". In Brenner, Oscar [in German] (ed.). Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-selskabet i Christiania. Trykt hos Brøgger & Christie. B, k; pp. 7–8. K demonia assumptis corporibus serviunt hominibus
  67. ^ Schön (1996), p. 10.
  68. ^ a b c d Afzelius (1844), 2: 189–190; Thorpe (1851), II: 91–92
  69. ^ Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog s.v. "Pikkelhue", Falk, Hjalmar; Torp|Alf edd., 2: 56.
  70. ^ a b c d Faye (1833), p. 43–45; tr. Thorpe (1851), pp. 16–17
  71. ^ Cf. Lecouteux's dictionary under "Niss": "In Sweden, an old bearded man wearing a red cap and gray clothing".[51]
  72. ^ Svenska Akademiens Ordbok, s.v. "Vadmal".
  73. ^ Original text: "Walmarsjackan", variant of "vadmal"[72]
  74. ^ a b Afzelius (1841), 3: 80–81; Thorpe (1851), II: 94
  75. ^ Castrén, Matthias Alexander (1853). Vorlesungen über die finnische Mythologie. Übertragen von Anton Schiefner. Buchdr. der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften; zu haben bei Eggers. p. 165.
  76. ^ Macc da Cherda (pseudonym of Whitley Stokes) (May 1857). "The Mythology of Finland". Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country. 55 (329): 532.
  77. ^ Castrén (German tr.),[75] translated into English by Macc da Cherda Whitley Stokes signeed Macc da Cherna.[76]
  78. ^ Schön (1996), p. 19.
  79. ^ "Made in Sweden: Four Delightful Christmas Products". Sweden & America. Swedish Council of America: 49. Autumn 1995.
  80. ^ a b Arill, David (Autumn 1924). "Tomten och gasten (Frändefors)". Tro, sed och sägen: folkminnen (in Swedish). Wettergren & Kerber. p. 45.
  81. ^ Thomas, Alastair H. (2016). "Folklore". Historical Dictionary of Denmark (3 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442264656.
  82. ^ Craigie (1896). "Nisse and the Girl", p. 434, translated from Grundtvig (1854) [204, Paa oxholm varden engang en Gaardbuk..], p. 156.
  83. ^ Craigie, note, p. 434 writes that a cognate tale involving a lad occurs in Thiele, (II, 270) and translated by Keightley (1828): "The Nis and the Mare",1: 233–232, but is lacking the cause (the nis performing a prank such as transforming), and only the general motif of the lad hitting with a "dung fork" and getting revenge is paralleled.
  84. ^ ordnet.dk s.v. "løbebro"
  85. ^ The orignial text reads "under Lovebroen", where løbebro is defined as the "narrow, temporary footbridge or passage, e.g. in the form of a ladder that forms a connection in a scaffold",[84] though Thrope gives "in many places".
  86. ^ Asbjørnsen & Moe (1911) [1879] (Text revised by Moltke Moe). "En aftenstund i et proprietærkjøkken", p. 129
  87. ^ Bugge, Kristian [in Norwegian] (1934). Folkeminneoptegnelser: et utvalg. Norsk folkeminnelag 34. Norsk folkeminnelag: Norsk folkeminnelag. p. 74.
  88. ^ Kvideland & Sehmsdorf (1988) "48.4 When the Nisse Got No Butter on His Christmas Porridge", p. 241
  89. ^ Version localized at Toftegård, with the sprite called a gaardbuk (farm-buck) or "little Nils", in Craigie (1896) "Nisse Kills a Cow", p. 198, translated from Grundtvig (1854) [130 Toftegaard har ingen saadanne strænge Minder, men der skal forhen have været en Gaardbuk eller en 'bette Nils,'..], p. 126
  90. ^ "Legend of the Nisse and Tomte". Ingebretsen's. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  91. ^ Asbjørnsen (1870), p. 77; tr. Christiansen (1964) "64. The Nisse’s Revenge", pp. 140–141
  92. ^ a b c d e f Celander (1928), pp. 211–212.
  93. ^ Celander (1928), pp. 212–213.
  94. ^ Feilberg (1918), p. 59.
  95. ^ In Kristensen (1893), the Part "B. Nisser" is divided into sections, where "§11. Nissens grød (the nisse's porrdige)" collects legends No. 144– 150 pp. 78-60. No. 145, localized in Puggaard, Gørding [da] Hundred tells of a nis pug wanting buckwheat porridge. No. 150 says the nisse favored buckwheat porridge but used the butter to fry souls (taken down from A. L., perhaps A. Ludvigsen?).
  96. ^ Celander (1928), p. 212.
  97. ^ Kvideland & Sehmsdorf (1988) "48.10 The Nisse's New Clothes", p. 245
  98. ^ German and Scandinavian Legendary Creatures Retrieved 2 December 2013
  99. ^ Keeping Swedish culture alive with St. Lucia Day, Tomte Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2 December 2013
  100. ^ Tomte: Scandinavian Christmas traditions at the American Swedish Institute Retrieved 2 December 2013
  101. ^ Friedman, Amy. Go San Angelo: Standard-Times. "Tell Me a story: The Tomte's New Suit (A Swedish Tale) Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  102. ^ Schön (1996), p. 46.
  103. ^ There is also anecdote localized at Brastad two farmers harvesting from the same field but the disparity in wealth develops due to one having a tomte.[102]
  104. ^ Cf. Simpson (1994) "The Tomte Carries One Straw ", p. 174
  105. ^ Cf. Lindow (1978) "60. The Tomte Carries a Single Straw" (Angerdshestra Parish [sv], Småland), p. 138
  106. ^ a b Lillejord, S; Mkabela, N (2004). "Indigenous and popular narratives: The educational use of myths in a comparative perspective". South African Journal of Higher Education. 18 (3): 257–268 – via Unisa Press.
  107. ^ Cf. Keightley (1828) "The Nis and the Mare", pp. 229–230.
  108. ^ Cf. Simpson (1994) "The Tomte Hates the New Horse", p. 174, "The Tomte's Favourite Cow", p. 173
  109. ^ Arndt, Arvid August (1857). Vom nordischen Hausbau und Hausgeist: Ein Schreiben an Herrn Geheimen Justiz-Rath Michelsen. Jena: Friedrich Frommann. pp. 7–9.
  110. ^ Rue, Anna (2018). ""It Breathes Norwegian Life": Heritage Making at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum". Scandinavian Studies. 90 (3): 350–375. doi:10.5406/scanstud.90.3.0350. ISSN 0036-5637. JSTOR 10.5406/scanstud.90.3.0350.
  111. ^ Lindow (1978), p. 42.
  112. ^ ordnet.dk s.v. "gårdbo"
  113. ^ Faye gives gardbo[19]
  114. ^ Feilberg (1918), pp. 15, 34–35.
  115. ^ Tysk-svensk ordbok: Skoluppl s.v. "Klabautermann", Hoppe, Otto ed. (1908)
  116. ^ e. g. Hans Rasmussen: Sønderjyske sagn og gamle fortællinger, 2019, ISBN 978-8-72-602272-8
  117. ^ "Rühs, Fredrik (Friedrich Rühs)". Biographiskt Lexicon öfver namnkunnige svenska män: R - S. Vol. 13. Upsala: Wahlström. 1847. p. 232.
  118. ^ Perry, Joe (2020). "Germany and Scandinvia". In Larsen, Timothy (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Christmas. Oxford University Press. p. 450. ISBN 9780192567130.
  119. ^ Local.se. "Introducing... Christmas Tomte.". Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  120. ^ Lucia Retrieved 2 December 2013
  121. ^ Eichberg (2018), pp. 293–294.
  122. ^ Berg, Gösta [in Swedish] (1947). Det glada sverige: våra fester och hogtider genom tiderna. Stockholm: Natur och kultur. p. 10.
  123. ^ a b Törnroos, Benny [in Swedish] (19 December 2016). "Svenska Yles serie om julmusik: Tomten och Tomtarnas vaktparad". Yle. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  124. ^ Henrikson, Alf; Törngren, Disa [in Swedish]; Hansson, Lars (1981). Hexikon: en sagolik uppslagsbok. Trevi. ISBN 9789171604989. Nyström som gav honom den yttre apparitionen ; hennes egen far fick stå modell , men hon tog vissa drag i själva gestalten från gamla lappgubbar.
  125. ^ Berglund (1957), p. 159.
  126. ^ Svensson, Sigfrid [in Swedish] (1942). "Jultomten, Bygd och yttervärld". Nordiska Museets Handlingar. 15: 104.
  127. ^ a b Bergman, Anne (1984). "Julbockar, julgubbar eller jultomtar. Något om julklappsutdelarna i Finland". Budkavlen. 63: 32.
  128. ^ Hofberg, Herman [in Swedish] (1882). "Tomten". Svenska folksägner. Stockholm: Fr. Skoglund. pp. 106–108.
  129. ^ Schager Karin (1989) Julbocken i folktro och jultradition (Rabén & Sjögren)
  130. ^ A Swedish Christmas song about Tomtar (gnomes) Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2 December 2013
  131. ^ Brett, Jan (2000). Hedgie's Surprise. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-399-23477-4
  132. ^ Hopman, Ellen Evert (2020). "A Primer on Fairies and Helpful Spirits". The Sacred Herbs of Spring: Magical, Healing, and Edible Plants to Celebrate Beltaine. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781644110669.
  133. ^ Eisenhauer, Benjamin Maximilian The Great Dictionary English - Swedish. s.v."garden gnome"
  134. ^ Glosbe (Dansk) "garden gnome": havenisse, accessed 2024-11-29
  135. ^ Glosbe (Norsk bokmål) "garden gnome": hagenisse, accessed 2024-11-29

Bibliography

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  • Afzelius, Arvid August (1844). "Tomtarne". Swenska folkets sago-häfder: eller Fäderneslandets historia, sådan d. leswat och ännu till en del leswer sägner, folksånger och andra minnesmärken. Vol. 2. Stockholm: Zacharias Haeggström. pp. 189–191.
  • —— (1841). "14. Om svenska folkets färger och klädedrägt". Swenska folkets sago-häfder: eller Fäderneslandets historia, sådan d. leswat och ännu till en del leswer sägner, folksånger och andra minnesmärken. Vol. 3. Stockholm: Zacharias Haeggström. pp. 79–81.
  • Berglund, Barbro (1957). "Jultomtens ursprung" [The origins of the 'Jultomte']. ARV. Tidskrift för Nordisk Folkminnesforskning (in Swedish). 13: 159–172.; summary in English.
  • Faye, Andreas (1833). "Nissen". Norske Sagn (in Danish). Arendal: N. C. Halds Bogtrykkerie. pp. 43–47.
  • Knutsen, Gunnar W.; Riisøy, Anne Irene (2007). "Trolls and witches". Arv: Nordic Yearbook of Folklore. 63: 31–70.; pdf text via Academia.edu
  • Kristensen, Evald Tang, ed. (1893). "B. Nisser". Danske sagn: afd. Ellefolk, nisser o.s.v. Religiøse sagn. Lys og varsler. Vol. 2. Århus: Jacob Zeuners Bogtrykkeri. pp. 41–102.


Further reading

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