Nisse (folklore)

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A tomtenisse made of salt dough. A common Scandinavian Christmas decoration, 2004.

Modern vision of a nisse, 2007

A Template:Lang (Template:IPA, Template:IPA), Template:Lang (Template:IPA), Template:Lang, or Template:Lang (Template:IPA) 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.

Although there are several suggested etymologies, nisse may derive from the given name Niels or Nicholas, introduced 15–17th century (or earlier in medieval times according to some), hence nisse is cognate to Saint Nicholas and related to the Saint Nicholas Day gift giver to children. In the 19th century the Scandinavian nisse became increasingly associated with the Christmas season and Christmas gift giving, its pictorial depiction strongly influenced by American Santa Claus in some opinion, evolving into the Template:Lang .

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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The word nisse is a pan-Scandinavian term.<ref name="norske-allkunnebok"/> Its modern usage in Norway into the 19th century is evidenced in Asbjørnsen's collection.<ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-gammeldags-juleaften/><ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-aftenstund/> The Norwegian Template:Lang is also equated to nisse or tomte.<ref name=aasen-tufte/><ref name=brynildsen-tufte/> In Danish the form Template:Lang ("house nisse") also occurs.

Other synonyms include the Swedish names Template:Lang and Template:Lang Template:Sfnp (cf. Template:Section link). The names Template:Lang and Template:Lang ("tomte farmer") have occurred in Sweden and parts of Norway close to Sweden.Template:Sfnp The Finnish Template:Illm is borrowed from Swedish (cf. Template:Section link), but the Finnish spirit has gained a distinct identity and is no longer synonymous.<ref name="mansikka1916"/><ref name="holmberg1927"/> There is also the Template:Lang (lit. "house lot man") but this is a literary Christmas elf.<ref name="haavio1942"/>

There are also localized appellations, in and Template:Lang in Gudbrandsdalen and Nordland regions of NorwayTemplate:Sfnp (cf. Template:Section link).

Other variants include the Swedish names Template:Lang and Template:Lang; also in Sweden (and Norwegian regions proximate to Sweden) Template:Lang and Template:Lang ("tomte farmer"),Template:Sfnp (cf. Template:Section link) and Template:Section link (Template:Lang. "mound man", etc.).

English translations

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.Template:Sfnp

Various English language publications also introduce the nisse as an "elf" or "gnome".Template:Refn Template:Refn

In the past, Template:Illm (1881) chose to substitute nisse with "brownie".<ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-gammeldags-juleaften/><ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-aftenstund/> Template:Illm's dictionary (1927) glossed nisse as 'goblin' or 'hobgoblin'.<ref name=brynildsen-nisse/>

In the English editions of the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales the Danish word Template:Lang has been translated as 'goblin', for example, in the tale "The Goblin at the Grocer's".<ref name="binding-nisse"/>

Dialects

Forms such as Template:Lang have been seen as dialect. Aasen noted the variant form Template:Lang to be prevalent in the Nordland and Trondheim areas of Norway,<ref name=aasen-tufte/> and the tale "Tuftefolket på Sandflesa" published by Asbjørnsen is localized in Træna Municipality in Nordland.Template:Refn Another synonym is tunkall ("yard fellow"Template:Sfnp) also found in the north and west.Template:Sfnp

Thus ostensibly Template:Lang prevails in eastern Norway (and adjoining Sweden),Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp although there are caveats attached to such over-generalizations by linguist Template:Illm.Template:Refn Template:Refn It might also be conceded that Template:Lang is more a Swedish term than Norwegian.<ref>Template:Harvp and note 28.</ref> In Scania, Halland and Blekinge within Sweden, the tomte or nisse is also known as Template:Lang (i.e Template:Lang 'good nisse').Template:Sfnp Template:Refn

Reidar Thoralf Christiansen remarked that the "belief in the Template:Lang is confined to the south and east" of Norway, and theorized the nisse was introduced to Norway (from Denmark) in the 17th century,Template:Sfnp but there is already mention of "Nisse pugen" in a Norwegian legal tract c. 1600 or earlier,<ref name="knutsen-century"/>Template:Refn and Template:Illm (1938) believed the introduction to be as early as 13 to 14c.<ref name="knutsen-century">Template:Harvp and note 35.</ref> The Norsk Allkunnebok encyclopedia states less precisely that nisse was introduced from Denmark relatively late, whereas native names found in Norway such as tomte, Template:Lang, tufte, tuftekall, Template:Lang, etc., date much earlier.<ref name="norske-allkunnebok"/><ref>Also quoted in Template:Harvp</ref>

Etymology

It has repeatedly been conjectured that nisse might be a variant of "nixie" or Template:Lang<ref name="andersen1890"/><ref name="sayers1997"/><ref name=falk&torp-nisse/> but detractors including Jacob Grimm note that a nixie is a water sprite and its proper Dano-Norwegian cognate would be nøkk, not nisse.<ref name="Grimm-DM-nisse"/><ref name=binding-apud-briggs/>

According to Grimm nisse was a form of Niels (or German: Template:Lang Template:Refn), like various house spritesTemplate:Refn that adopted human given names,<ref name="Grimm-DM-nisse"/><ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/>Template:Refn and was therefore cognate to St. Nicholas, and related to the Christmas gift-giver.<ref name="anichkof1894"/><ref name="eichberg2018"/><ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/>Template:Refn Indeed, the common explanation in Denmark is that nisse is the diminutive form of Niels, as Danes in 19th century used to refer to a nisse as "Template:Lang" or Template:Lang (Template:Lang, literally "yard/farmstead dweller" is also name for a sprite).Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp<ref name="norske-allkunnebok"/>

An alternate etymology derives nisse from Old Norse Template:Lang, meaning "dear little relative".<ref>Template:Harvp:"Template:Langx".</ref>

The Template:Lang ("homestead man"), Template:Lang ("farm guardian"), and Template:Lang ("yard fellow") bear names that associated them with the farmstead.Template:Sfnp The Finnish Template:Lang is also borrowed from Swedish tomte, but "later tradition no longer consider these identical".<ref name="mansikka1916"/>

Additional synonyms

Faye also gives Dano-Norwegian forms Template:Lang or Template:Lang.<ref name="faye-anmærkning-p045">Template:Harvp; tr. Template:Harvp</ref> These are echoed by the Swedish Template:Lang, Norwegian Nynorsk Template:Lang.

Norwegian Template:Lang (cf. Template:Lang) is a synonym for nisse,<ref name=falk&torp-nisse/><ref name=aasen-gardvord/>Template:Refn or has become conflated with it.Template:Sfnp Likewise Template:Lang is a synonym.<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/> Also the Template:Lang ("farmyard-dweller"),<ref name="eichberg2018"/><ref>ordnet.dk s.v. "Template:URL"</ref>Template:Refn

Other synonyms are Norwegian Template:Lang ("good farmer"),<ref name="hellquist-dict-tomte">Hellquist, Elof (1922) Svensk etymologisk ordbok s.v. "Template:URL", p. 988.</ref> Danish Template:Lang ("good lad").<ref name="hellquist-dict-tomte"/> Also Danish Template:Lang ("farm buck") and Template:Lang ("housebuck") where buck could mean billygoat or ram.<ref name="eichberg2018"/>Template:Refn<ref name="atkinson1865"/>

Regionally in Uppland Sweden is Template:Lang ("yard-spirit"), which being a rå often takes on a female form, which might relate to Western Norwegian Template:Lang (gardvord).Template:Sfnp

In the confines of Klepsland in Evje, Setesdal, Norway they spoke of Template:Lang ("barn gnome").Template:Sfnp

Near synonyms

Template:Also Some commentators have equated or closely connected the tomte/nisse to the Template:Lang (<Template:Langx "mound dweller").Template:Refn Template:Refn However there is caution expressed by linguist Oddrun Grønvik against completely equating the tomte/nissse with the mound dwellers of lore, called the Template:Lang or Template:Lang (from the Old Norse Template:Lang 'mound'),Template:Sfnp although the latter has become indistinguishable with Template:Lang, as evident from the form Template:Lang.Template:Sfnp Template:Refn

The haugbonde is said to be the ghost of the first inhabitant of the farmstead, he who cleared the Template:Lang (house lot), who subsequently becomes its guardian.Template:Sfnp This haugbonde has also connected with the Danish/Norwegian Template:Lang (modern spelling: Template:Lang, "farm tree") or in Swedish Template:Lang ("ward tree") cult<ref name="feilberg1904"/><ref name="gundarsson2021"/>Template:Sfnp (Cf. Template:Section link).

Another near synonym is the Template:Lang, where dukke denotes a "dragger" or "drawer, puller" (of luck or goods delivered to the beneficiary human), which is distinguishable from a nisse since it is considered not to haunt a specific household.<ref name="atkinson1865"/>

Origin theories

The story of propitiating a household deity for boons in Iceland occurs in the "Story of Þorvaldr Koðránsson the Far-Travelled" (Template:Lang) and the Kristni saga where the 10th century figure attended to his father Koðrán giving up worship of the heathen idol (called Template:Lang or 'year-man' in the saga: Template:Lang or 'prophet' in the [Þáttr]]) embodied in stone;Template:Sfnp this has been suggested as a precursor to the nisse in the monograph study by Henning Frederik Feilberg,Template:Sfnp 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").<ref name="mckinnel&ashurst&kick2006"/>

Feilberg argued that in Christianized medieval Denmark the puge (cog. Old Norse Template:Lang, 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,Template:Sfnp this puge or puk in medieval writings may be counted as the oldest documentation of nisse, by another name, according to Henning Eichberg.Template:Refn<ref name="eichberg2018"/> But Claude Lecouteux handles puk or puge as distinct from niss[e].<ref name="lecouteux-dict-niss"/>

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, Template:Lang, etc. originally denoted the Template:Lang ("earth wights").Template:Sfnp 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.<ref>Template:Harvp "2. Nisseskikkelsens Udspring [Origins of the nisse figure]", pp. 10–15.</ref> The nature spirits―i.e., tomtevætte ("site wights"), Template:Lang ("howe/mound dwellers"),Template:Sfnp "underground wights" (Template:Lang),Template:Sfnp 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 (Template:Lang) that took up permanent residence at homes.Template:Sfnp 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.Template:Refn Template:Refn 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.Template:Sfnp

There are two 14th century Old Swedish attestations to the Template:Lang "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 Template:Lang or "tomte gods", apparently perceiving this to be competition to their entitlement to the tithe (Template:Lang, book VI, ch. 78).Template:Sfnp Template:Refn<ref name="swedishpress">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Refn There is not enough here to precisely narrow down the nature of the deity, whether it was land spirit (Template:Lang) or a household spirit (Template:Lang).<ref name="lecouteux2015"/>

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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).<ref name="olaus"/><ref name="olaus-eng"/> It reprints the same stable-worker picture found on the map Carta Marina, B, k.<ref name="olaus-eng"/> 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.<ref name="olaus-CartaMarina"/> The sector "B" of this map where the drawing occurs spanned Finnmark (under Norway) and West Lappland (under Sweden).<ref name="olaus-CartaMarina"/> While Olaus does not explicitly give the local vernacular (Scandinavian) names, the woodcuts probably represent the tomte or nisse according to modern commentators.Template:Sfnp<ref name="lecouteux-dict-tomte"/><ref name="eichberg2018"/>

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.<ref name="afzelius1"/>

Appearance

File:Eventyrbog for Børn2(1884)-back.png

Nisse and cat.Template:Right

The Norwegian nisse was no bigger than a child, dressed in gray, wearing a red, pointy hat (Template:Lang = pikkelhue;<ref name="EtymOrdbogNorske-pikkelhue"/> a Template:Linktext is a soft brimless hat) according to Faye.<ref name="faye-p043">Template:Harvp; tr. Template:Harvp and tr. Template:Harvp</ref>

In Denmark also, nisser are often seen as long-bearded, wearing gray and a red brimless cap (Template:Lang).<ref name="dahl&hammer-dict-nisse"/>Template:Sfnp<ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016"/> But the nisse turned bearded is an alteration, and the traditional purist nisse is beardless as a child, according to the book by Axel Olrik and Hans Ellekilde.Template:Sfnp

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 grayTemplate:Refn wadmal (coarse woolen)Template:Refn jacket, short breeches, and ordinary shoes such as a peasant would wear.<ref name="afzelius1"/>Template:Refn Template:Efn

The tonttu of Finland was said to be one-eyed,Template:Refn and likewise in Swedish-speaking areas of Finland, hence the stock phrase "Template:Lang" (one-eyed like the tomten).Template:Sfnp

File:Nisser i vinduskarmen.JPG

Nisser on a windowsill

The TomteTemplate:'s height is anywhere from Template:Cvt to no taller than Template:Cvt according to one Swedish-American source,<ref name=swedish-council-america/> 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.Template:Refn<ref name=arill/>

Shapeshifter

The nisse may be held to have the ability to transform into animals such as the buck-goat.<ref name="eichberg2018"/><ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016"/> horse, or a goose.<ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016"/>

In one tale localized at Template:Illm, 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.<ref>Template:Harvp. "Template:URL", p. 434, translated from Template:Harvp Template:URL, p. 156.</ref>Template:Refn

Offerings

For the various benefits the nisse provided for his host family (which will be elaborated below under Template:Section link), the family was expected to reward the sprite usually with porridge (subsection Template:Section link below). Even in the mid-19th century, there were still Christian men who made offerings to the tomtar spirit on Christmas day. The offering (called Template:Lang or "give them a reward") used to be pieces of wadmal (coarse wool), tobacco, and a shovelful of dirt.<ref name="afzelius2"/>

Porridge-lover

File:Vilhelm Pedersen - krasnoludek ubt.jpeg

A nisse receiving his porridge. Template:Right

One is also expected to please nisse with gifts (cf. Template:Lang) a traditional gift is a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve. The nisse was easily angered over the porridge offering. It was not only a servant who ate up the porridge meant for the sprite that incurred its wrath,<ref name="asbjornsen-revenge"/> but the nisse was so fastidious that if it was not prepared or presented correctly using butter, he still got angry enough to retaliate.<ref name="k&s-48.4-nobutter"/><ref name="tangherlini1994"/> Cf. also Template:Section link.

The Norwegian household, in order to gain favor of the nisse, sets out the Christmas Eve and Thursday evenings meal for it under a sort of Template:Linktexts (of the barn)Template:Refn Template:Refn The meal consisted of sweet porridge, cake, beer, etc. But the sprite was very picky about the taste.<ref name="faye-p043"/> Some (later) authorities specified that it is the rømmegrøt (var. Template:Lang, "sour cream porridge", using wheat flour and/or semolina) should be the treat to serve the Norwegian nisse.<ref name="asbjornsen&moe-NFHE-aftenstund1911"/><ref name="bugge_k.1934"/> While the rommegrøt still remained the traditional Christmas treat for Norwegian-Americans as of year 2000, Norwegian taste has shifted to preferring rice pudding (Template:Langx) for Christmas, and has taken to serving it to the supposed julenisse.Template:Sfnp

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 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.<ref name="k&s-48.4-nobutter">Template:Harvp "Template:URL", pp. 241–242. The farm in the tale is located at Template:Illm, Østfold, Norway. From a collected folktales from Østfold.</ref><ref>Northern Danish version localized at Toftegård (near the brook Template:Illm, a Toftegård Bridge remains), with the sprite called a gaardbuk (farm-buck) or "little Nils", in Template:Harvp "Template:URL", p. 198, translated from Template:Harvp Template:URL, p. 126</ref>Template:Refn

In a Norwegian tale,Template:Efn 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!"Template:Efn The farmer found her nearly lifeless the morning after.<ref name="asbjornsen-revenge">Template:Harvp; tr. Template:Harvp "Template:URL", pp. 140–141</ref>Template:Refn In a Northern Danish variant, the girl behaves more appallingly, not only devouring the beer and porridge, but peeing in the mug and doing her business (i.e., defecating) in the bowl. The nisse leaves her lying on a slab above the well.<ref>Template:Harvp, #196. Told by Jens Pedersen of Template:Illm</ref> The motif occurs in Swedish-speaking Finland with certain twists. In one version, the servant eats the tomteTemplate:'s porridge and milk to bring his master to grief, who winds up having to sell the homestead when the sprite leaves.<ref name="landtman1919"/> And in the legend from Nyland (Uusimaa)Template:Efn it decides the rivalry between neighbor the Bäckars and the Smeds, the boy from the first family regains the tomte lost to the other family by intercepting the offering of milk and porridge, eating it, and defiled it in "shameful manner ". The tomte returning from the labor of carrying seven bales of rye exclaimed some words and reverted to the old family.<ref name="allardt1889"/>

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

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.<ref name="afzelius2"/> The bribe could also be bread, cheese, leftovers from the Christmas meal, or even clothing (cf. below).Template:Sfnp 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.<ref name="afzelius2"/>

In Denmark, it is said that the nisse or nis puge (nis pug) particularly favors sweet buckwheat porridge (Template:Lang), though in some telling it is just ordinary porridge or flour porridge that is requested.Template:Sfnp Template:Refn

Gift clothing

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 (Template:Illm), the folk generously offered a fur coat and a red cap such as was suitable for winter attire.Template:Sfnp

Conversely, the commonplace motif where the "House spirit leaves when gift of clothing is left for it"Template:Efn might be exhibited: According to one Swedish tale, a certain Danish woman (Template:Lang) 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 (Template:Lang). So she made a new gray kirtle (Template:Lang) 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.<ref name="afzelius3">Template:Harvp; Template:Harvp</ref>Template:Refn A similar tale about a nisse grinding grain at the mill is localized at the farmstead of Template:Illm in Ringerike, Norway. It is widespread and has been assigned Migratory Legend index ML 7015.<ref>Template:Harvp "Template:URL", p. 245</ref>Template:Refn

As helpers

According to tradition, the NorwegianTemplate:Refn and Danish nisse lives the barns of the farmstead; in Denmark, it is said the spirit starts out living in the church at first, but can be coaxed into move to one's barn.<ref name="grundtvig-apud-craigie">Template:Harvp. "Template:URL", pp. 189–190 (from Grundtvig; cf. p. 434),cf. Template:Harvp Template:URL, p. 97.</ref> A house-tomte dwelled in every home according to Swedish tradition,<ref name="beveridge2014"/> and it is emphasized the tomte is attached to the farmstead rather than the family.Template:Sfnp The tomte is regarded as dwelling under the floorboards of houses, stables, or barns.<ref name="mantecabulletin2013"/><ref name="karlsson2009"/>Template:Refn

The nisse will beneficially serve those he likes or those he regards as friend, doing farm-work or stable chores such as stealing hay from the neighbor (Norwegian)Template:Refn or stealing grain (Danish).<ref name="grundtvig-apud-craigie"/> The Norwegian tusse (i.e. nisse) in a tale had stolen both fodder and food for its beneficiary.Template:Refn Similarly, the tomte, if treated well, will protect the family and animals from evil and misfortune, and may also aid the chores and farm work.<ref name="karlsson2009"/> But it has a short temper, especially when offended,Template:Refn and can cause life to be miserable.<ref name="karlsson2009"/> Once insulted, the tomte will resort to mischief, braiding up the tails of cattle, etc.<ref name="friedman2012">Template:Cite news</ref> or even kill the cow.<ref name="lindow-no063">Cf. Template:Harvp "Template:URL" (Ālvsåker, Halland. IFGH 937:40 ff.), pp. 141–142</ref>

Harvesting

File:Tomtestealinghay.jpg

A nisse stealing hay from a farmer.Template:Right

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.<ref name="afzelius1">Template:Harvp; Template:Harvp</ref>Template:Refn 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.<ref name="afzelius1"/><ref name="simpson1994-p174b-straw">Cf. Template:Harvp "The Tomte Carries One Straw ", p. 174</ref><ref>Cf. Template:Harvp "60. The Tomte Carries a Single Straw" (Template:Illm, Småland), p. 138</ref> A tusse in a Norwegian tale also reverses all the goods (both fodder and food) he had carried from elsewhere after being laughed at for huffing and heaving just a ear of barley.Template:Refn

Animal husbandry

Template:Anchors

File:Lundby nissen 1842.jpg

A nisse in the stable.Template:Right

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 (Template:Langx) 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.<ref name="faye-p043"/> There is also a Danish tale of the nisse stealing fodder for the livestock.<ref name="k&s-48.2-fodder">Template:Harvp "Template:URL", pp. 229–240. The farm in the tale is located at Template:Illm, Ringkjøbing County, Denmark.</ref>

As the protector of the farm and caretaker of livestock, the tomteTemplate:'s retributions for bad practices range from small pranks like a hard strike to the ear<ref name="afzelius2"/> to more severe punishment like killing of livestock.<ref name="lindow-no063"/>

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.<ref name="afzelius2">Template:Harvp; Template:Harvp</ref> Belief has it that one could see which horse was the tomteTemplate:'s favourite as it will be especially healthy and well taken care of.<ref>Cf. Template:Harvp "The Nis and the Mare", pp. 229–230.</ref>Template:Refn

The phenomenon of various "elves" (by various names) braiding "elflocks" on the manes of horses is widespread across Europe, but is also attributed to the Norwegian nisse, where it is called the "nisse-plaits" (Template:Lang) or "tusse-plaits" (Template:Lang), and taken as a good sign of the sprite's presence.<ref name="lecouteux2013"/><ref name="raudvere2021"/> Similar superstition regarding tomte (or nisse) is known to have been held in the Swedish-American community, with the taboo that the braid must be unraveled with fingers and never cut with scissors.<ref name="sklute1970"/>

Carpentry

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.<ref name="afzelius2"/> 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.<ref name="arndt1857"/>

Wrath and retribution

The nisseTemplate:'s irritability and vindictiveness especially at being insulted has already been discussed.Template:Refn And its wrath cannot be taken lightly due to the nissenTemplate:'s immense strength despite their size.<ref name="faye-p043"/> They are also easily offended by carelessness, lack of proper respect, and lazy farmers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

If displeased, the nisse may resort to mischiefs such as overturning buckets of milkTemplate:Refn, causing cream to sour, or causing the harness straps on horses to break.<ref name="ross1977"/>

If he is angered, he may leave the home, and take the good luck and fortune of the family with him, or be more vindictive, even as to kill someone.<ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016"/>Template:Refn

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.Template:Cn

Exorcism

Although the tomte (def. pl. Template:Lang) 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".Template:Sfnp

Parallels

Any of the various household spirits across the world can be brought to comparison as a comparison to the nisse (cf. Template:Section link). In English folklore, there are several beings similar to the nisse, such as the Scots and English brownie, Robin Goodfellow, and Northumbrian hob.Template:Refn<ref name="bl-svenska-man"/> These plus the Scottish redcap, Irish clurichaun, various German household spirits such as Hödeken (Template:Linktext), Napfhans, Puk (cog. English puck), and so on and so forth are grouped together with the Scandinavian nisse or nisse-god-dreng ("good-lad") in similar lists compiled by T. Crofton Croker (1828) and William John Thoms (1828).<ref name="croker1828"/><ref name="thoms1828"/> Both name Spain's "Template:Lang", the latter claiming an exact match with the "Tomte Gubbe", explaining duende to be a contraction of "Template:Lang" meaning "master of the house" in Spanish (The duende lore has reached Latin America. cf. Template:Section link).<ref name="croker1828"/><ref name="thoms1828"/>

As for subtypes, the nisse could also take a ship for his home, and be called Template:Lang, equivalent to German klabautermann,Template:Sfnp and Swedish Template:Lang.<ref>Tysk-svensk ordbok: Skoluppl s.v. "Template:URL", Hoppe, Otto ed. (1908)</ref> Also related is the Nis Puk, which is widespread in the area of Southern Jutland/Schleswig, in the Danish-German border area.<ref>e. g. Hans Rasmussen: Sønderjyske sagn og gamle fortællinger, 2019, Template:ISBN</ref>

In Finland, the sauna has a Template:Linktext.<ref name="birt1987"/>

Modern Julenisse

Template:See also

File:Glædelig Jul, 1885.jpg

Nisse on Christmas Card (1885)

File:Swedish Christmas card.jpg

Swedish Christmas card featuring tomte

The household nisse/tomte later evolved into the Christmas Template:Lang of Sweden and Julenisse of Denmark/Norway (Template:Langx, Template:Langx).<ref name="perry2020"/> Likewise in Finland, where the Template:Lang of Christmas-tide developed rather late, based on the tonttu which had been introduced much earlier from Scandinavian (Swedish etc.) myth, and already attested in Finland in the writings of Mikael Agricola (16 cent.).<ref name="kulonen1994"/>

While the original "household spirit" was no "guest" and rather a house-haunter, the modern itinerant jultomte was a reinvention of the spirit as an annual visitor bearing gifts.Template:Sfnp He has also been transformed from a diminutive creature into an adult-size being.<ref name="swedishpress"/> In Denmark, it was during the 1840s the farm's Template:Lang became Template:Lang, the multiple-numbered bearers of Yuletide presents, through the artistic depictions of Lorenz Frølich (1840), Johan Thomas Lundbye (1845), and H. C. Ley (1849).Template:Sfnp Lundbye was one artist who frequently inserted his own cameo portraiture into his depictions of the nisse over the years (cf. fig. above).<ref name="laurin&hannover&thiis1922"/>

File:Julemotiv tegnet av Jenny Nystrøm (24207693358).jpg

Swedish Christmas card by Jenny Nyström, circa 1899

The image shift in Sweden (to the white-bearded<ref name="berg1947"/> and red-capped<ref name="törnroos2016"/>) is generally credited to illustrator Jenny Nyström's 1881 depiction of the tomte accompanying Viktor Rydberg's poem "Tomten",Template:Efn first published in the Template:Lang magazine<ref name="swedishpress"/><ref name="hulan1989"/> She crafted the (facial) appearance of her tomte using her own father as her model, though she also extracted features from elderly Lappish men.<ref name="törnroos2016"/><ref name="henrikson&törngren&Hansson1981"/>

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.Template:Sfnp 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,<ref name="svensson1942"/> and it is said she did construct her image based on Swedish and Danish illustrations.<ref name="bergman1984"/>

Template:Illm's anthology of Swedish folklore (1882), illustrated by Nyström and other artists, writes in the text that the tomte wears a "pointy red hat" ("Template:Lang").<ref name="hofberg1882"/> Nyström in 1884 began illustrating the tomte handing out Christmas presents.<ref name="bergman1984"/>

Gradually, the commercialized version has made the Norwegian Template:Lang look more and more like the "Template:Linktext" American Santa Claus, compared with the thin and gaunt traditional version which has not entirely disappeared.Template:Sfnp The Danish Template:Lang impersonated by the fake-bearded father of the family wearing gray Template:Lang (glossed as a Template:Illm or peasant's frock), red hat, black belt, and wooden shoes full of straw was relatively a new affair as of the early 20th century,<ref>Template:Harvp; as to date, Ellekilde cited by Template:Harvp states it is relatively recent.</ref> and deviates from the traditional nisse in many ways, for instance, the nisse of old lore is beardless like a youth or child.Template:Sfnp

Julebock

Template:Main

File:John Bauer Julbock.jpg

Julbocken by John Bauer (1912)

Also in Sweden, the forerunner Christmas gift-giver was the mythical Yule goat (Template:Lang, cf. Julebukking) starting around the early 19th century,Template:Efn Template:Sfnp before the advent of the Template:Lang.Template:Sfnp The julbock was either a prop (straw figure) or a person dressed as goat, equipped with horns, beard, etc.<ref>Template:Harvp: "Han förekom icke blott som halmfigur, utan man klädde också ut sig till julbock (It not only appeared as a straw figure, but people also dressed up as a Yule buck)"., cf. pp. 173–175 for childhood testimonies, etc.</ref>Template:Refn The modern version of juletomte is a mixture of the traditional tomte combined with this Yule goat and Santa Claus.<ref name="swedishpress"/>

In later celebrations of Christmas (cf. Template:Section link), the julbock no longer took on the role as thus described, but as a sumpter beast, or rather, the animal or animals drawing the gift-loaded sleigh of the jultomte.Template:Sfnp Template:Refn Meanwhile some commentators have tried to link this Christmas goat with the pair of goats hitched to the god Þórr's chariot, which flies over the sky.

As for other animals, period Christmas cards also depict the julenisse in the company of a cat (Template:Lang)Template:Sfnp The juletomte of the Christmas card artist's imagination, is often paired with a horse or cat, or riding on a goat or in a sled pulled by a goat.Template:Cn The jultomte is also commonly depicted with a pig on Christmas cards.Template:Cn Template:Void

Present-day

File:Little Swedish tomte made of cork and wool with a Christmas wish, Leiden, December 2023 - 2.jpg

Little Swedish tomte homemade of cork and wool with a Christmas wish, December 2023

In the modern conception, the jultomte, Julenisse or Santa Claus, enacted by the father or uncle, etc., in disguise, will show up and deliver as Christmas gift-bringer.Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp In Finland too, the Suomi version of Father Christmas will show up at the door bringing gifts to the children.Template:Sfnp After dinner, the children await the Jultomten or Julenisse to arrive (on a julbok-drawn sleigh), then ask them "Are there any good children here?" before passing out his gifts.Template:Sfnp Template:Refn

There are still a number of differences from the American Santa Claus myth. The Scandinavian Christmas nisse does not live at the North Pole, but perhaps in a forest nearby; the Danish Template:Lang lives on Greenland, and the Finnish Template:Lang (in Finland he is still called the Yule Goat, although his animal features have disappeared) lives in Lapland; he does not come down the chimney at night, but through the front door, delivering the presents directly to the children, just like the Yule Goat did.

Modern adaptations

In Hans Christian Andersen's collection of fairy tales, the nisse appears in "The Goblin at the Grocer's"Template:Efn as aforementioned, as well as "The Goblin and the Woman" (Template:Lang)<ref name="binding-nisse"/><ref>Template:Harvp;Template:Harvp</ref> and "Ole Lukøje"; the church nisse also appears in his short fantasy The Travelling Companion.<ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016"/>

An angry tomte is featured in the popular children's book by Swedish author Template:Lang, Template:Lang (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils). The tomte turns the naughty boy Nils into a tomte at the beginning of the book, and Nils then travels across Sweden on the back of a goose.<ref name="DKwriters2018-lagerlof"/>

A tomte stars in one of author Jan Brett's children's stories, Hedgie's Surprise.<ref>Brett, Jan (2000). Hedgie's Surprise. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. Template:ISBN</ref> When adapting the mainly English-language concept of Template:Lang having helpers (sometimes in a workshop), Template:Lang 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.

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

The appearance traditionally ascribed to a nisse or tomte resembles that of the garden gnome figurine for outdoors,<ref name="hopman2020"/> which are in turn, also called Template:Lang in Swedish,<ref name="GreatDictEnSw-gardengnome">Eisenhauer, Benjamin Maximilian The Great Dictionary English - Swedish. s.v."Template:URL"</ref> Template:Lang in Danish, Template:Lang in Norwegian<ref name="Glosbe-da-gardengnome">Glosbe (Dansk) "Template:URL": havenisse, accessed 2024-11-29</ref><ref name="Glosbe-nb-gardengnome">Glosbe (Norsk bokmål) "Template:URL": hagenisse, accessed 2024-11-29</ref> and Template:Lang in Finnish.Template:Citation needed