Editing Nisse (folklore)

{{short description|Nordic mythological creature}}
{{redirect2|Tomten|Tomte|the poem|Tomten (poem)|the band|Tomte (band)}}
[[File:Nisse1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|A ''tomtenisse'' made of [[salt dough]]. A common Scandinavian [[Christmas#Decorations|Christmas decoration]], 2004.]]
[[File:Nisse.jpg|thumb|Modern vision of a nisse, 2007]]

A '''{{lang|da|nisse}}''' ({{IPA|da|ˈne̝sə|lang}}, {{IPA|no|ˈnɪ̂sːə|lang}}), '''{{lang|sv|tomte}}''' ({{IPA|sv|ˈtɔ̂mːtɛ|lang}}), '''{{lang|sv|tomtenisse}}''', or '''{{lang|fi|tonttu}}''' ({{IPA|fi|ˈtontːu|lang}}) 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 {{lang|no|Julenisse}} .

The nisse is one of the most familiar creatures of [[Scandinavia]]n 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==
{{Also|Nis Puk}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = En gammeldags juleaften Page 05.jpg
| alt1              = A ''nisse'' eating from a bowl of Christmas porridge.
| caption1          = A ''nisse'' eating Christmas porridge.<br /> A [[beer stein]] beside it.<br />―Illustration by [[Vincent Stoltenberg Lerche]].<ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-gammeldags-juleaften/>
| image2            = Nisse-mann.jpg
| alt2              = A nisse as stable-boy.
| caption2          = A ''nisse'' as stable-boy.<br />―Illustration by [[Hans Gude]]. Asbjørnsen (1896) ''Norske Folke- og Huldre-Eventyr''<ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-aftenstund/>
| footer            = <!--From Asbjørnsen (1896) ''Norske Folke- og Huldre-Eventyr''.-->
}}

The word ''nisse'' is a pan-Scandinavian term.<ref name="norske-allkunnebok"/> Its modern usage in [[Norway]] into the 19th century is evidenced in [[Peter Christen Asbjørnsen|Asbjørnsen's]] collection.<ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-gammeldags-juleaften/><ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-aftenstund/> The Norwegian '''{{lang|no|tufte}}''' is also equated to ''nisse'' or ''tomte''.<ref name=aasen-tufte/><ref name=brynildsen-tufte/> In Danish the form {{lang|da|husnisse}} ("house nisse") also occurs.

Other synonyms include the Swedish names {{lang|sv|tomtenisse}} and {{lang|sv|tomtekarl}}{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|loc='''1''': 304}} (cf. {{section link||Additional synonyms}}). The names {{lang|sv|tomtegubbe}} and {{lang|sv|tomtebonde}} ("tomte farmer") have occurred in Sweden and parts of Norway close to Sweden.{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=304}} The Finnish {{illm|tonttu|fi|preserve=1}} is borrowed from Swedish (cf. {{section link||Etymology}}), but the Finnish spirit has gained a distinct identity and is no longer synonymous.<ref name="mansikka1916"/><ref name="holmberg1927"/> There is also the {{lang|fi|tonttu-ukko}} (lit. "house lot man") but this is a literary Christmas elf.<ref name="haavio1942"/>

There are also localized appellations,  in  and {{lang|no|tuftekall}} in [[Gudbrandsdalen]] and [[Nordland]] regions of Norway{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=304}} (cf. {{section link||Dialects}}).

Other variants include the Swedish names {{lang|sv|tomtenisse}} and {{lang|sv|tomtekarl}}; also in Sweden (and Norwegian regions proximate to Sweden) {{lang|sv|tomtegubbe}} and {{lang|sv|tomtebonde}} ("tomte farmer"),{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=304}} (cf. {{section link||Additional synonyms}}) and {{section link||Near synonyms}} ({{lang|no|haugkall}}. "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]].{{sfnp|Christiansen|2016|p=137}} 

Various English language publications also introduce the ''nisse'' as an "elf" or "gnome".{{Refn|e.g., Crump's ''Christmas Encyclopedia'' (2022).<ref name="crump2022"/>}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|As a point of reference, the 19th century Norwegian linguist [[Knud Knudsen (linguist)|Knud Knudsen]] glosses the "gnome" in the vaguest sense has been glossed variously as ''nisse'' or ''vaette'' ([[wight]]), ''[[wikt:tuss|tus]]'' (giant).<ref name="knudsen1880-gnome"/>}}

In the past, {{illm|Hans Lien Brækstad|no|lt=H. L. Braekstad}} (1881) chose to substitute ''nisse'' with "[[Brownie (folklore)|brownie]]".<ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-gammeldags-juleaften/><ref name=asbjornsen-NFHE-aftenstund/> {{illm|John Brynildsen|no|lt=Brynildsen}}'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 language|Danish]] word {{lang|da|nisse}} has been translated as 'goblin', for example, in the tale "[[The Goblin and the Grocer|The Goblin at the Grocer's]]".<ref name="binding-nisse"/>

===Dialects===
Forms such as {{lang|no|tufte}} have been seen as [[dialect]]. [[Ivar Aasen|Aasen]] noted the variant form {{lang|no|'''tuftekall'''}} to be prevalent in the [[Nordland]] and [[Trondheim]] areas of Norway,<ref name=aasen-tufte/> and the tale "Tuftefolket på Sandflesa" published by [[Peter Christen Asbjørnsen|Asbjørnsen]] is localized in [[Træna Municipality]] in Nordland.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The tale "Tuftefolket på Sandflesa" describes its setting as Trena, and Sandflesa is explained as a shifting bank off its shore.<ref name=christiansen&iversen-tuftefolk/>}} Another synonym is '''''tunkall''''' ("yard fellow"{{sfnp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988|p=238}}) also found in the north and west.{{sfnp|Christiansen|2016|pp=141, lc}} 

Thus ostensibly {{lang|no|tomte}} prevails in eastern Norway (and adjoining Sweden),{{sfnp|Stokker|2000|p=54}}{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=304}}
although there are caveats attached to such over-generalizations by linguist {{illm|Oddrun Grønvik|no}}.{{Refn|{{harvp|Grønvik, Oddrun|1997|p=154}}, summarized in English in Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (1998).<ref name="LLBA"/>}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|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".<ref name="LLBA"/>}} It might also be conceded that {{lang|sv|tomte}} is more a Swedish term than Norwegian.<ref>{{harvp|Knutsen|Riisøy|2007|p=48}} and note 28.</ref> In [[Scania]], [[Halland]] and [[Blekinge]] within Sweden, the ''tomte'' or ''nisse'' is also known as '''{{lang|sv|goanisse}}''' (i.e {{lang|sv|godnisse, goenisse}} 'good nisse').{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=294}}{{Refn|The ''tomte'' (''tomtar'') is also called the ''nisse'' (plural: ''nissar'') [in Blekinge].<ref name="afzelius2"/>}}

[[Reidar Thoralf Christiansen]] remarked that the "belief in the {{lang|no|nisse}} is confined to the south and east" of Norway, and theorized the ''nisse'' was introduced to Norway (from [[Denmark]]) in the 17th century,{{sfnp|Christiansen|2016|pp=141, lc}} but there is already mention of "Nisse pugen" in a Norwegian legal tract c. 1600 or earlier,<ref name="knutsen-century"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Not inconsistent with Falk and Torp's etymological dictionary dating  the introduction into Scandinavia (from Germany) to have occurred in the post-[[Reformation]] era.<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/>}} and {{illm|Otto Emil Birkeli|no|lt=Emil Birkeli}} (1938) believed the introduction to be as early as 13 to 14c.<ref name="knutsen-century">{{harvp|Knutsen|Riisøy|2007|p=51}} 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'', {{lang|no|'''tomtegubbe'''}}, ''tufte'', ''tuftekall'', {{lang|no|'''gardvord'''}}, etc., date much earlier.<ref name="norske-allkunnebok"/><ref>Also quoted in {{harvp|Grønvik, Ottar|1997|p=130}}</ref>

===Etymology===
It has repeatedly been conjectured that ''nisse'' might be a variant of "[[neck (water spirit)|nixie]]" or {{lang|de|nix}}<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: {{lang|de|Niklas}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The name related to the etymology of ''nisse'' has several German forms besides Niklas, namely {{lang|de|Nickel, Klaus}}, and in Austria {{lang|de|Niklo}}.<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/>}}), like various house sprites{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Chim (Joachim) and Has (Hans), German sprite names derived from human names, are given as synonymous to ''nisse'' by Falk&Torp.<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/>}} that adopted human [[Given name|given names]],<ref name="Grimm-DM-nisse"/><ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|With the period of "Nisse/Niels" type spirit name being introduced into Scandinavia falling in either c. 13/14th century,<ref name="knutsen-century"/> or the 16th,<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/> 17th century,{{sfnp|Christiansen|2016|pp=141, lc}} as discussed above.}} 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"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Compare also English "Old Nick" for the name of the devil.<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/> The name Nickel is of course related to the etymology of the metal or element [[nickel]].}} 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 "{{lang|da|Lille Niels}}" or {{lang|da|Niels Gårdbo}} ({{lang|da|gårdbo}}, literally "yard/farmstead dweller" is also name for a sprite).{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=294}}{{sfnp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988|p=238}}<ref name="norske-allkunnebok"/>

An alternate etymology derives ''nisse'' from [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|niðsi}}, meaning "dear little relative".<ref>{{harvp|Grønvik, Ottar|1997|pp=129, 144–145}}:"{{langx|no|den lille/kjære slektningen}}".</ref>

The {{lang|sv|tomte}} ("homestead man"), {{lang|no|gardvord}} ("farm guardian"), and {{lang|no|tunkall}} ("yard fellow") bear names that associated them with the [[farmstead]].{{sfnp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988|p=238}} The [[Finnish language|Finnish]] {{lang|fi|tonttu}} 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 {{lang|da|toft-vætte}} or {{lang|da|tomte-vætte}}.<ref name="faye-anmærkning-p045">{{harvp|Faye|1833|p=45–47}}; tr. {{harvp|Thorpe|1851|p=118}}</ref> These are echoed by the Swedish {{lang|sv|{{linktext|vätte}}}}, Norwegian Nynorsk {{lang|nn|{{linktext|vette}}}}.

Norwegian {{lang|no|gardvord}} (cf. {{lang|non|{{linktext|vörðr}}}}) is a synonym for ''nisse'',<ref name=falk&torp-nisse/><ref name=aasen-gardvord/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Or synonymous with {{lang|no|tunkall}}, as Christiansen comments,{{sfnp|Christiansen|2016|p=143}} 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 ({{langx|da|gård}}).<ref name=aasen-gardvord/>}} or has become conflated with it.{{sfnp|Bringsværd|1970|p=89}} Likewise {{lang|no|'''tunvord''', "courtyard/farmstead guardian"}} is a synonym.<ref name="falk&torp-nisse"/> Also the '''{{lang|no|gårdbo}}''' ("farmyard-dweller"),<ref name="eichberg2018"/><ref>ordnet.dk s.v. "{{URL|1=https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=g%C3%A5rdbo |2=gårdbo}}"</ref>{{Refn|Faye gives ''gardbo''<ref name="faye-anmærkning-p045"/>}} 

Other synonyms are Norwegian {{lang|no|god bonde}} ("good farmer"),<ref name="hellquist-dict-tomte">[[Elof Hellquist|Hellquist, Elof ]] (1922) ''Svensk etymologisk ordbok'' s.v. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jsv5E6VApfUC&pg=PA988 |2=Tomte}}", p. 988.</ref> Danish {{lang|da|god dreng}} ("good lad").<ref name="hellquist-dict-tomte"/> Also Danish {{lang|da|gårdbuk}} ("farm buck") and {{lang|da|husbuk}} ("housebuck") where buck could mean billygoat or ram.<ref name="eichberg2018"/>{{Refn|Mannhardt<ref name="mannhardt1868"/> citing {{harvp|Grundtvig|1854|loc='''1''': 155, 126, 142}}.}}<ref name="atkinson1865"/>

Regionally in [[Uppland]] Sweden is {{lang|sv|gårdsrå}} ("yard-spirit"), which being a ''[[rå]]'' often takes on a female form, which might relate to Western Norwegian {{lang|no|garvor}} (gardvord).{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=307}}

In the confines of Klepsland in [[Evje]], [[Setesdal]], Norway they spoke of {{lang|no|fjøsnisse}} ("barn gnome").{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=304}}

====Near synonyms====
{{Also|#Parallels}}
Some commentators have equated or closely connected the ''tomte/nisse'' to the {{lang|sv|haugbonde}} (<{{langx|non|haubúi}} "mound dweller").{{Refn|Kveldúlf Gundarsson ([[Stephan Grundy]])<ref name="gundarsson2021"/> citing Feilberg<ref name="feilberg1904"/>}}{{Refn|{{harvp|Simpson|1994|p=173}} citing [[Andreas Faye]] (1833) {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=RitXAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA42 |2=Norske Sagn}}, pp. 42–45, though this seems wanting, except for "Haug børnene (mound children)" on p. 37).}} However there is caution expressed by linguist Oddrun Grønvik against completely equating the ''tomte/nissse'' with the mound dwellers of lore, called the {{lang|no|haugkall}} or {{lang|no|haugebonde}} (from the [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|haugr}} 'mound'),{{sfnp|Grønvik, Oddrun|1997|p=154}} although the latter has become indistinguishable with ''{{lang|no|tuss}}'', as evident from the form ''{{lang|no|haugtuss}}''.{{sfnp|Grønvik, Oddrun|1997|p=154}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|A different opinion comes from SF writer and academic [[Tor Åge Bringsværd]] who includes ''tusse'' among the synonyms for ''nisse''.<ref>{{harvp|Bringsværd|1970|p=89}}. "the nisse, also known under the name of tusse, tuftebonde, tuftekall, tomte and gobonde".</ref>}}

The ''haugbonde'' is said to be the ghost of  the first inhabitant of the farmstead, he who cleared the {{lang|sv|tomt}} (house lot), who subsequently becomes its guardian.{{sfnp|Lecouteux|2015|p=PT151}} This ''haugbonde'' has also connected with the Danish/Norwegian {{lang|no|tuntræt}} (modern spelling: {{lang|no|tuntre}}, "farm tree") or in Swedish {{lang|sv|{{illm|vårdträd|sv|lt=vårdträd}}}} ("ward tree") cult<ref name="feilberg1904"/><ref name="gundarsson2021"/>{{sfnp|Lecouteux|2015|p=PT151}} (Cf. {{section link||Origin theories}}).

Another near synonym is the {{lang|da|drage-dukke}}, 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 [[Thorvald Kodransson|Þorvaldr Koðránsson]] the Far-Travelled" ({{lang|non|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 {{lang|non|ármaðr}} or 'year-man' in the saga: {{lang|non|spámaðr}} or 'prophet' in the ''[Þáttr]]'') embodied in stone;{{sfnp|Lecouteux|2015|p=PT150}} this has been suggested as a precursor to the ''nisse'' in the [[monograph]] study by [[Henning Frederik Feilberg]]<!--Feilberg: f-eye-l-barra rhymes with "Edinburgh"-->,{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|pp=16–18}} 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"/>

[[Henning Frederik Feilberg|Feilberg]] argued that in Christianized medieval Denmark the ''puge'' (cog. Old Norse {{lang|non|puki}}, German ''puk'' cf. ''[[Nis Puk]]''; English [[puck (folklore)|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,{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|pp=16–18}} this ''puge'' or ''puk'' in medieval writings may be counted as the oldest documentation of ''nisse'', by another name, according to [[Henning Eichberg]].{{Refn|Eichberg takes an example from the medieval ''[[Lucidarius]]'', Danish translated version, printed 1510. See [[Nis Puk]].}}<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'', {{lang|no|tomtevætte}}, etc. originally denoted the {{lang|da|jordvætten}} ("earth wights").{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|p=13}} 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>{{harvp|Feilberg|1918}} "2. Nisseskikkelsens Udspring [Origins of the nisse figure]", pp. 10–15.</ref> The nature spirits―i.e., ''tomtevætte'' ("site wights"), {{lang|da|haugbue}} ("howe/mound dwellers"),{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|p=13}} "underground wights" ({{lang|da|undervætte, underjordiske vætte}}),{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|pp=12–13}} 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 ({{lang|da|husvætte}}) that took up permanent residence at homes.{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|p=13}} 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.{{Refn|Tale localized at [[Rønnebæksholm]] outside [[Næstved]]. The ''nisse'' wore green clothes and a red hat.{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|p=13}}}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|However, the ''nisse'' living in the woods was not necessarily replaced or superseded. According to one source the Danes today still remember there is a separate wood ''nisse'' that wears green or brown, much smaller than the house ''nisse'' which wears gray.<ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016"/>}} 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.{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|p=14}}

There are two 14th century [[Old Swedish]] attestations to the {{lang|non|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 {{lang|non|tompta gudhi}} or "tomte gods", apparently perceiving this to be competition to their entitlement to the [[tithe]] ({{lang|la|Revelationes}}, book VI, ch. 78).{{sfnp|Schön|1996|pp=11–12}}{{Refn|name="lecouteux-brigitt"|Lecouteux,<ref name="lecouteux2015">{{cite book|last=Lecouteux |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Lecouteux |chapter=16 The Contract with the Spirits |title=Demons and Spirits of the Land: Ancestral Lore and Practices |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT151 |page= |isbn=<!--1620554003, -->9781620554005}}</ref> citing [[:sv:Waldemar Liungman|Liungman, Waldemar ]] (1961) ''Das Rå und der Herr der Tiere''.}}<ref name="swedishpress">{{Cite web |last=Andersson |first=Lara |author-link=<!--Lara Andersson--> |date=2018-12-22 |title=The Swedish Tomte |website=Swedish Press |url=https://swedishpress.com/the-genealogy-of-the-swedish-tomte/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|name="martin_amberg"|In medieval Germany the household spirit ''[[Schrat|schretlein]]'' or ''[[Drude|trut]]'' ({{lang|de|Trud}}) was offered pairs of little red shoes, against Christian teachings, according to Martin von Amberg (c. 1350–1400).<ref name="hagen1837"/>}} There is not enough here to precisely narrow down the nature of the deity, whether it was land spirit ({{lang|sv|tomta rå}}) or a household spirit ({{lang|sv|gårdsrå}}).<ref name="lecouteux2015"/>

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 360
| image1            = Olaus(1555)-Hist septentrionalibus-p127-stable-tomte(detail center).jpg
| alt1              = Dæmon or a ''tomte/nisse'' sweeping stable
| caption1          = Dæmon or a ''tomte/nisse''<ref name="lecouteux-dict-tomte"/><ref name="eichberg2018"/> sweeping the stable with broom{{efn|Detail of woodcut:. See [[:File:Olaus(1555)-Hist septentrionalibus-p127-daemons-servicing.jpg|this file]] for full view.}}{{right|—Olaus Magnus (1555){{Refn|''Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus'' Book 3, Ch. 22. "On the services performed by demons".<ref name="olaus"/><ref name="olaus-eng"/>}}}}
| image2            = Carta Marina-B-k-daemon.jpg
| alt2              = The demon on the colored map
| caption2          = The dæmon on the colored map{{right|—Olaus Magnus (1539) ''Carta Marina''.}}
| footer            = <!---->
}}

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.{{sfnp|Schön|1996|p=10}}<ref name="lecouteux-dict-tomte"/><ref name="eichberg2018"/>

Later folklore says that a ''tomte'' is the soul of a slave during [[Scandinavian paganism|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 [[Last Judgment|doomsday]].<ref name="afzelius1"/>

==Appearance==
[[File:Eventyrbog for Børn2(1884)-back.png|thumb|Nisse and cat.{{right|―[[Erik Werenskiold]], back cover of Asbjørnsen (1884) ''Eventyrbog for Børn''}}]]

The Norwegian ''nisse'' was no bigger than a child, dressed in gray, wearing a red, pointy hat ({{lang|da|pikhue}} {{=}} ''[[:da:pikkelhue|pikkelhue]]'';<ref name="EtymOrdbogNorske-pikkelhue"/> a ''{{linktext|hue}}'' is a soft brimless hat) according to [[Andreas Faye|Faye]].<ref name="faye-p043">{{harvp|Faye|1833|pp=43–45}}; tr. {{harvp|Thorpe|1851|pp=16–17}} and tr. {{harvp|Craigie|1896|pp=189–190}}</ref>

In Denmark also, ''nisser'' are often seen as long-bearded, wearing gray and a red brimless cap ({{lang|da|hue}}).<ref name="dahl&hammer-dict-nisse"/>{{sfnp|Kristensen|1893|p=43}}<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.{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=292}}

The ''tomte'', according to [[Arvid August Afzelius|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{{Refn|Cf. Lecouteux's dictionary under "Niss": "In Sweden, an old bearded man wearing a red cap and gray clothing".<ref name="lecouteux-dict-niss"/>}} [[wadmal]] (coarse woolen){{Refn|Original text: "{{lang|sv|Walmarsjackan}}", variant of "{{lang|sv|vadmal}}"<ref>Svenska Akademiens Ordbok, s.v. "{{URL|1=https://www.saob.se/artikel/?seek=vadmal |2=Vadmal}}".</ref>}} jacket, short [[breeches]], and ordinary shoes such as a peasant would wear.<ref name="afzelius1"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|It is remarked that the tomte is outfitted in little gray jackets (not the blue-yellow national colors of Sweden), and the troll ({{lang|sv|trålen}}) sings: "{{lang|sv|Surn skall jag inför Ronungen gå /Som inte år klädd, utan bara i walmaret grå?}} [Sorely do I go forth to {{illm|Ranungen|sv}} / Who am clad in mere wadmal of gray]".<ref name="afzelius3"/>}}{{efn|The [[knee breeches]] with [[stocking]]s were still the common male dress in rural Scandinavia in the 17th, 18th, or 19th century.}}

The ''tonttu'' of Finland was said to be one-eyed,{{Refn|Castrén (German tr.),<ref name="castren1853"/> translated into English by Macc da Cherda [[Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar)|Whitley Stokes]] signeed Macc da Cherna.<ref name="FrasersMag1857"/>}} and likewise in Swedish-speaking areas of Finland, hence the stock phrase "{{lang|sv|Enögd som tomten}}" (one-eyed like the tomten).{{sfnp|Schön|1996|p=19}}

[[File:Nisser i vinduskarmen.JPG|thumb|Nisser on a windowsill]]
The ''Tomte''{{'}}s height is anywhere from {{cvt|60|cm|ft|sigfig=1}} to no taller than {{cvt|90|cm|ft|sigfig=1}} according to one Swedish-American source,<ref name=swedish-council-america/> whereas the ''tomte'' (pl. ''tomtarna'') were just 1 ''[[Swedish units of measurement#Old length units|aln]]'' tall (an ''aln'' or Swedish [[ell]] being just shy of 60&nbsp;cm or 2&nbsp;ft), according to one local Swedish tradition.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|While a ''gaste'' was 2 ''alnar'' tall.<ref name=arill/>}}<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 {{illm|Oxholm (manor)|da|Oxholm (herregård)|lt=Oxholm}}, 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>{{harvp|Craigie|1896}}. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGsKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA205 |2=Nisse and the Girl}}", p. 434, translated from {{harvp|Grundtvig|1854}} {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=tc1oAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA156 |2=[204], Paa oxholm varden engang en Gaardbuk.. }}, p. 156.</ref>{{Refn|Craigie, note, p. 434 writes that a cognate tale involving a lad occurs in Thiele, (II, 270)  and translated by {{harvp|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.}}

==Offerings==
For the various benefits the ''nisse'' provided for his host family (which will be elaborated below under {{section link||As helpers}}), the family was expected to reward the sprite usually with porridge (subsection {{section link||Porridge-lover}} 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 {{lang|sv|{{linktext|gifwa |dem |lön}}}} 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|thumb|200px|right|A ''nisse'' receiving his porridge. {{right|―[[Vilhelm Pedersen]], illustration for Andersen (1853) ''[[The Goblin and the Grocer|Nissen hos Spækhøkeren]]'' [The Goblin at the Grocer's]}}]]
One is also expected to please ''nisse'' with gifts (cf. {{lang|non|[[Blót]]}}) 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 {{section link||Wrath and retribution}}.

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 {{linktext|catwalk}}s (of the barn){{Refn|The original text reads "{{lang|da|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",<ref>ordnet.dk s.v. "{{URL|1=https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?aselect=l%C3%B8bebro&query=l%C3%B8bebro |2=løbebro}}"</ref> though Thrope (and Craigie) do not translated this out and merely give "in many places". It is implicit this is part of a barn; the girl who mockingly brought food was found dead in the barn.}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|name="spraengt"}} 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. {{lang|no|rømmegraut}}, "[[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]] ({{langx|no|risengrynsgrøt, risgrøt}}) for Christmas, and has taken to serving it to the supposed ''julenisse''.{{sfnp|Stokker|2000|pp=72–74}}

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">{{harvp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wTCSv2CGqUC&pg=PA241 |2=48.4 When the ''Nisse'' Got No Butter on His Christmas Porridge}}", pp. 241–242. The farm in the tale is located at {{illm|Rød (Våler)|no}}, [[Østfold]], Norway. From a collected folktales from Østfold.</ref><ref>Northern Danish version localized at Toftegård (near the brook {{illm|Ryå|da|Ryå}}, a Toftegård Bridge remains), with the sprite called a ''gaardbuk'' (farm-buck) or "little Nils", in {{harvp|Craigie|1896}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGsKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA198 |2=Nisse Kills a Cow}}", p. 198, translated from {{harvp|Grundtvig|1854}} {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=tc1oAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA126 |2=[130] Toftegaard har ingen saadanne strænge Minder, men der skal forhen have været en Gaardbuk eller en 'bette Nils,'.. }}, p. 126</ref>{{Refn|Also Danish versions recorded as #181 and #182 in {{harvp|Kristensen|1893|p=88}}, with #182 quoted in English translation by Tangherlini (2015) [1994]: here, after the killed cow, stones and sticks start banging against the wall because the ''nisse'' wished the newly replaced cow to behave like the old.<ref name="tangherlini1994"/>}}

In a Norwegian tale,{{efn|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!"{{efn|Reads "tomten" instead of "nissen" in the original Norwegian, and the two lines are repeated again in a refrain.}} The farmer found her nearly lifeless the morning after.<ref name="asbjornsen-revenge">{{harvp|Asbjørnsen|1870|p=77}}; tr. {{harvp|Christiansen|1964}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSOQci5O1KEC&pg=PA140 |2=64. The ''Nisse''{{'}}s Revenge}}", pp. 140–141</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|name="spraengt"|According to Faye, the Norwegian girl brought the Christmas porridge mockingly, and after he danced with her, she was found lying dead in the barn<ref name="faye-p043"/> (the original "{{lang|de|sprængt}}" appears to mean "exploded, blown to bits"<ref>ordnet.dk s.v. "{{URL|1=https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=spr%C3%A6ngt |2=sprænge}}"</ref>).}} 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>{{harvp|Kristensen|1928|p=55}}, #196. Told by Jens Pedersen of {{illm|Nørre Næraa Parish|da|Nørre Næraa Sogn|lt=Nørre Næraa}}</ref> The motif occurs in Swedish-speaking Finland with certain twists. In one version, the servant eats the ''tomte''{{'}}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]]){{efn|Rankila in Nyland is named}} 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 <!--skamligt sätt-->". 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]] ({{lang|sv|{{linktext|jul|gröt}}}}) was traditionally placed on the corner of the cottage-house, or the grain-barn ({{lang|sv|{{linktext|lode}}}}), the barn, or stable; and in Finland the porridge was also put out on the grain-kiln ({{lang|sv|{{linktext|rin}}}}) or sauna.{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=211–212}} This gruel is preferably offered with [[butter]] or [[honey]].{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=211–212}} This is basically the annual salary to the spirit who is being hired as "the broom for the whole year".{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=212–213}} If the household neglects the gift,{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=211–212}} the contract is broken, and the tomte may very well leave the farm or house.{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=211–212}}<!--Or he may engage in mischief such as .. turning objects upside-down, and breaking things [eggs<ref name="friedman2012"/>]{{reliable}}-->

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).{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=211–212}} 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 Puk|nis puge]]'' (''nis pug'') particularly favors sweet [[buckwheat]] porridge ({{lang|da|boghvedegrød}}), though in some telling it is just ordinary porridge or flour porridge that is requested.{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|p=59}}{{Refn|In {{harvp|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, {{illm|Gørding (hundred)|da|Gørding Herred|lt=Gørding}} [[hundred (Denmark)|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?). No. 182 gives "buckwheat-groat-porridge" ({{lang|da|bogetgrynsgrød}}, probably something like [[kasha]]-groat.}}

===Gift clothing===
In certain areas of Sweden and Finland, the Christmas gift consisted of a set of clothing, a pair of [[Mitten|mittens]] or a pair of shoes at a minimum. In [[Uppland]] ({{illm|Skokloster parish|sv|Skoklosters socken}}), the folk generously offered a fur coat and a red cap such as was suitable for winter attire.{{sfnp|Celander|1928|p=212}}

Conversely, the commonplace motif where the "[[household spirit|House spirit]] leaves when gift of clothing is left for it"{{efn|Stith-Thompson's [[Motif-Index of Folk-Literature|motif index]] F405.11. "House spirit leaves when gift of clothing is left for it".}} might be exhibited:  According to one Swedish tale, a certain Danish woman ({{lang|sv|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 ({{lang|sv|mjölkaret}}). So she made a new gray [[kirtle]] ({{lang|sv|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.<ref name="afzelius3">{{harvp|Afzelius|1841|loc='''3''': 80–81}}; {{harvp|Thorpe|1851|loc='''II''': 94}}</ref>{{Refn|In Amy Friedman's adaptation "The tomte's new suit", the family is worried about offending the tomte and causing it to leave, but ironically the gift of new clothing makes it go away.<ref name="friedman2012"/>}} A similar tale about a ''nisse'' grinding grain at the mill is localized at the farmstead of {{illm|Vaker|no}} in [[Ringerike (municipality)|Ringerike]], Norway. It is widespread and has been assigned Migratory Legend index ML 7015.<ref>{{harvp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wTCSv2CGqUC&pg=PA245 |2=48.10 The Nisse's New Clothes}}", p. 245</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|name="martin_amberg"}}

==As helpers==
According to tradition, the Norwegian{{Refn|name="faye-apud-craigie"|{{harvp|Craigie|1896}}. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGsKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA188 |2=The Nisse [first part}}", pp. 189–190 (from Faye;<ref name="faye-p043"/> cf. p. 434). Already discussed above on Faye and Thorpe tr., that it is implicit the Norwegian ''nisse'' lives in barn since food is brought to him there.}} and Danish ''nisse'' lives the [[barn]]s 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">{{harvp|Craigie|1896}}. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGsKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA189 |2=The Nisse [second part]}}", pp. 189–190 (from Grundtvig; cf. p. 434),cf. {{harvp|Grundtvig|1861}} {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWwAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA97 |2=[60], 13. Nissen}}, 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.{{sfnp|Beveridge|2014|p=77}} The ''tomte'' is regarded as dwelling under the [[floorboards]] of houses, stables, or barns.<ref name="mantecabulletin2013"/><ref name="karlsson2009"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Though the household protective deity living under the floorboards" belief is claimed to go back to the pagan Viking Age, and in those former times presumably pan-Scandinavian.<ref>{{harvp|Beveridge|2014|p=77}} quoting [[Thomas A. DuBois|Dubois, Thomas]] (1999), ''Nordic Religions in the Viking Age'', p. 51: "some deities dwelled in field and forest, others lived beneath the floorboards of human dwellings".</ref>}}

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){{Refn|name="faye-apud-craigie"}} or stealing grain (Danish).<ref name="grundtvig-apud-craigie"/> The Norwegian ''tusse'' (i.e. ''nisse''<!--as glossed paranthetically by Flatin-->) in a tale had stolen both fodder and food for its beneficiary.{{Refn|name="heavyload"}} 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,{{Refn|name="scorn"|"vindictive when any one slights or makes game of them.. Ridicule and contempt he cannot endure" (Faye, Thorpe tr.), "Scorn and contempt he cannot stand" (Craigie tr.)<ref name="faye-p043"/>}} 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">{{cite news|last=Friedman |first=Amy  |author-link=<!--Amy Friedman--> |others=Illustrated by Jillian Gilliland |title=Tell Me a story: The Tomte's New Suit (A Swedish Tale) |newspaper=Go San Angelo Standard-Times |date=7 April 2012 |url=http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/apr/07/tell-me-a-story-408/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203023224/http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/apr/07/tell-me-a-story-408/ |archive-date=2013-12-03 |access-date=2 December 2013}}</ref> or even kill the cow.<ref name="lindow-no063">Cf. {{harvp|Lindow|1978}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRe6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA141|2=63. The Missing Butter}}" (Ālvsåker, Halland. IFGH 937:40 ff.), pp. 141–142</ref>

===Harvesting===
[[File:Tomtestealinghay.jpg|thumb|A ''nisse'' stealing hay from a farmer.{{right|―''Nisser med høy''. Watercolor by [[Gudmund Stenersen]] (1863–1934)}}<!--This title given w/o date, accord. no.wikipedia on the artist and auction house, https://bidtoart.com/art/gundmund-stenersen-nisser-med-hoy that misspelt first name-->]]

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">{{harvp|Afzelius|1844 |loc='''2''': 189–190}}; {{harvp|Thorpe|1851|loc='''II''': 91–92}}</ref>{{Refn|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.{{sfnp|Schön|1996|p=46}}}} 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. {{harvp|Simpson|1994}} "The Tomte Carries One Straw ", p. 174</ref><ref>Cf. {{harvp|Lindow|1978}} "60. The Tomte Carries a Single Straw" ({{illm|Angerdshestra Parish|sv|Angerdshestra socken}}, 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.{{Refn|name="heavyload"|{{harvp|Christiansen|1964}}. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSOQci5O1KEC&pg=PA140|2=63. The Heavy Load}}", pp. 139–140; {{harvp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wTCSv2CGqUC&pg=PA239 |2=48.3 The Heavy Burden}}", pp. 240–241. Bad Lavrans who dwelled at Meås, Seljord who didn't appreciate that a ''tusse'' had been stealing fodder and food from Bakken, and all the goods went back. Bakken does not appear as an actual place names, at leas where it is called ''bakken'' (i. e. "the hill") named "Bøkkerdalen" and the name of the principal human figure is spelt "Lafrantz", and the ''tusse'' (''nisse'') was carrying a large sack of corn when he was derided.<ref name="flatin1940"/><!--This tale seems to bear similarity to the Bäckars vs. Smeds family feud<ref name="allardt1889"/> -->}}

===Animal husbandry===
{{anchors|lundbye_stable}}[[File:Lundby nissen 1842.jpg|thumb|A ''nisse'' in the stable.{{right|―[[Johan Thomas Lundbye]], in ''Flinchs Almanak'' (1842)}}]]

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]] ({{langx|da|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.<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">{{harvp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wTCSv2CGqUC&pg=PA239 |2=48.2 The ''Nisse'' who Stole Fodder}}", pp. 229–240. The farm in the tale is located at {{illm|Hindø|da}}, [[Ringkjøbing County]], Denmark.</ref>

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<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">{{harvp|Afzelius|1844|loc='''2''': 190–191}}; {{harvp|Thorpe|1851|loc='''II''': 92–94}}</ref> 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.<ref>Cf. {{harvp|Keightley|1828}} "The Nis and the Mare", pp. 229–230.</ref>{{Refn|Cf. {{harvp|Simpson|1994}} "The Tomte Hates the New Horse", p. 174, "The Tomte's Favourite Cow", p. 173}} 

The phenomenon of various "elves" (by various names) braiding "elflocks" on the [[Mane (horse)|mane]]s of horses is widespread across Europe, but is also attributed to the Norwegian ''nisse'', where it is called the "nisse-plaits" ({{lang|no|{{linktext|nisse|flette}}}}) or "tusse-plaits" ({{lang|no|tusseflette}}), 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"/><!--{{cn}}Undoing these braids without permission can mean misfortune or angering the ''tomte''.-->

===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 ''nisse''{{'}}s irritability and vindictiveness especially at being insulted has already been discussed.{{Refn|name="scorn"}} And its wrath cannot be taken lightly due to the ''nissen''{{'}}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>{{Cite journal |last=Rue |first=Anna |author-link=<!--Anna Rue--> |date=2018 |title="It Breathes Norwegian Life": Heritage Making at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum |journal=Scandinavian Studies |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=350–375 |doi=10.5406/scanstud.90.3.0350 |jstor=10.5406/scanstud.90.3.0350 |issn=0036-5637}}</ref>

If displeased, the ''nisse'' may resort to mischiefs such as overturning buckets of milk{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Spilling milk is something a ''tomte'' might do also.<ref name="friedman2012"/>}}, causing [[cream]] to [[souring|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"/>{{Refn|The example of the girl who mockingly served the porridge meal was killed or left looking "lifeless" ("exploded, broken to bits").<ref name="faye-p043"/>}}

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.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

===Exorcism===
<!---In other house spirits, the pranks or menace becomes too great and there are stories of multiple attempts at their expulsion ([[Hizelmann]], etc.) or there is a list of charms and ways to ward against it (cf. [[schrat]], [[mare (folktale)]], [[Drak (mythology)]]), [[drude]]. Nisse perhaps does not have as much.-->

Although the ''tomte'' (def. pl. {{lang|sv|tomtarna}}) were generally regarded as benevolent (compared to the ''[[rå]]'' or troll), some of the tales show church influence in likening the ''tomte'' to [[devil|devils]]. Consequently, the stories about their expulsions are recounted as "[[Exorcism|exorcisms]]".{{sfnp|Lindow|1978|p=42}}

==Parallels==

Any of the various [[Household deity|household spirits]] across the world can be brought to comparison as a comparison to the ''nisse'' (cf. {{section link||See also}}). In English folklore, there are several beings similar to the ''nisse'', such as the Scots and English ''[[brownie (elf)|brownie]]'', [[Robin Goodfellow]], and [[Northumbria (modern)|Northumbria]]n [[hob (folklore)|hob]].{{Refn|[[Motif-Index of Folk-Literature|Motif-Index]] F482. Brownie (nisse).<ref name="baughman2012"/>}}<ref name="bl-svenska-man"/> These plus the Scottish [[redcap]], Irish [[clurichaun]], various [[kobold|German household spirits]] such as ''[[Hödeken]]'' (''{{linktext|Hütchen}}''), ''Napfhans'', [[Nis Puk|Puk]] (cog. English [[Puck (folklore)|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 [[Thomas Crofton Croker|T. Crofton Croker]] (1828) and [[William John Thoms]] (1828).<ref name="croker1828"/><ref name="thoms1828"/> Both name Spain's "{{lang|es|[[duende]]}}", the latter claiming an exact match with the "Tomte Gubbe", explaining ''duende'' to be a [[Contraction (grammar)|contraction]] of "{{lang|es|{{linktext|dueño |de |casa}}}}" meaning "master of the house" in Spanish (The ''duende'' lore has reached Latin America. cf. {{section link|Little people (mythology)|Native American folklore}}).<ref name="croker1828"/><ref name="thoms1828"/>

As for subtypes, the nisse could also take a ship for his home, and be called {{lang|no|skibsnisse}}, equivalent to German ''klabautermann'',{{sfnp|Feilberg|1918|pp=15, 34–35}} and Swedish {{lang|sv|skeppstomte}}.<ref>''Tysk-svensk ordbok: Skoluppl'' s.v. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=KL8CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA273 |2=Klabautermann}}", [[:sv:Otto Hoppe|Hoppe, Otto ]] ed. (1908)</ref> Also related is the [[Niß Puk|Nis Puk]], which is widespread in the area of [[Southern Jutland]]/[[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]], in the Danish-German border area.<ref>e. g. Hans Rasmussen: ''Sønderjyske sagn og gamle fortællinger'', 2019, {{ISBN|978-8-72-602272-8}}</ref>

In [[Finland]], the [[Finnish sauna|sauna]] has a ''{{linktext|saunatonttu}}''.<ref name="birt1987"/><!--lack of src connecting to nissen/tomten; propose move to separate spinoff [[tonttu]] article--> 

==Modern Julenisse==
{{see also|Santa Claus}}
[[File:Glædelig Jul, 1885.jpg|thumb|Nisse on Christmas Card (1885)]]
[[File:Swedish Christmas card.jpg|thumb|Swedish Christmas card featuring tomte]]

The household nisse/tomte later evolved into the Christmas {{lang|sv|Jultomte}} of Sweden and ''Julenisse'' of Denmark/Norway ({{langx|da|Julenisserne}}, {{langx|no|Julenissen}}).<ref name="perry2020"/> Likewise in Finland, where the {{lang|fi|joulutonttu}} 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.{{sfnp|Celander|1928|pp=211–212}} 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 {{lang|da|nisse}} became {{lang|da|julenisser}}, the multiple-numbered bearers of [[Yule|Yuletide]] presents, through the artistic depictions of [[Lorenz Frølich]] (1840), [[Johan Thomas Lundbye]] (1845), and H. C. Ley<!--Hans Christian Ley (1828–1875)--> (1849).{{sfnp|Eichberg|2018|pp=293–294}} Lundbye was one artist who frequently inserted his own [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] portraiture into his depictions of the ''nisse'' over the years (cf. fig. [[#lundbye_stable|above]]).<ref name="laurin&hannover&thiis1922"/>

[[File:Julemotiv tegnet av Jenny Nystrøm (24207693358).jpg|left|thumb|Swedish Christmas card by [[Jenny Nyström]], circa 1899]]
The image shift in Sweden (to the white-bearded<ref name="berg1947"/> and red-capped<!--röd mössa--><ref name="törnroos2016"/>) is generally credited to illustrator [[Jenny Nyström]]'s 1881 depiction of the ''tomte'' accompanying Viktor Rydberg's poem "[[Tomten (poem)|Tomten]]",{{efn|In the poem, the tomte is alone awake in the cold Christmas night, pondering the mysteries of life and death.}} first published in the {{lang|sv|Ny Illustrerad Tidning}} 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.{{sfnp|Berglund|1957|p=159}} 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"/>

{{illm|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" ("{{lang|sv|spetsig röd mössa}}").<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 {{lang|no|julenisse}} look more and more like the "{{linktext|roly-poly}}" American Santa Claus, compared with the thin and gaunt traditional version which has not entirely disappeared.{{sfnp|Stokker|2000|pp=54–57}} The Danish {{lang|da|julemand}} impersonated by the fake-bearded father of the family wearing gray {{lang|da|kofte}} (glossed as a {{illm|cardigan (sweater)|no|kofte|preserve=1|cardigan}} 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>{{harvp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=292}}; as to date, Ellekilde cited by {{harvp|Nilsson|1927|p=173}} 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.{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=292}}

===Julebock===
{{main|Yule goat|Julebukking}}
[[File:John Bauer Julbock.jpg|thumb|Julbocken by John Bauer (1912)]]
Also in Sweden, the forerunner Christmas gift-giver was the mythical [[Yule goat]] ({{lang|sv|Julbocken}}, cf. [[Julebukking]]) starting around the early 19th century,{{efn|It is pointed out by Nilsson that there was no such Christmas gift giving custom in Sweden until the 18th century (or 19th century in many parts), and it had till then always been the New Year's Day gift-giving.}}{{sfnp|Nilsson|1927|p=173}} before the advent of the {{lang|sv|Jultomte}}.{{sfnp|Nilsson|1927|pp=172–173}} The ''julbock'' was either a prop (straw figure) or a person dressed as goat, equipped with horns, beard, etc.<ref>{{harvp|Nilsson|1927|p=175}}: "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>{{Refn|It had once gone out of style but the straw Yule goat made a revival around ca. 1920s.{{sfnp|Nilsson|1927|loc=p. 177, n21}}}} 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. {{section link||Present-day}}), 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''.{{sfnp|Patterson|1970|p=32}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|name="no_reindeer"|Authentically in Sweden the ''juletomten''{{'}}s "sleigh loaded with gifts to reward all the good little children [was drawn by] no reindeer [but] hitched to it is a prancing team of goats".<ref name="AmerSwedMo1961"/>}} Meanwhile some commentators have tried to link this Christmas goat with the [[Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr|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 ({{lang|da|{{linktext|mis}}}})<!--this glossed as "kitty, pussycat" but translator converts to "pig"-->{{sfnp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=292}} The ''juletomte'' of <!--Jenny Nyström's--> 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.{{cn|date=December 2024}} The ''jultomte'' is also commonly depicted with a pig on Christmas cards.{{cn|date=December 2024}}{{void|<!--fakesource. It's only on a carol given in Swedish vs. Eng. tr. by student and teachers in Taiwan--><ref name="swedish_carol">Tin-Tin; Nick; Nicole (2013) [http://www.enspyre-academy.com/en/about-us/news/106--tomtar- A Swedish Christmas song about Tomtar (gnomes)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203202657/http://www.enspyre-academy.com/en/about-us/news/106--tomtar- |date=2013-12-03 }} Retrieved 2 December 2013</ref>}}<!---Although sources in writing are not easily found, depictions on vintage Xmas cards are easily verifiable with image search, a museum/auctionhouse catalog or antique book may eventually turn up.-->

===Present-day===
[[File:Little Swedish tomte made of cork and wool with a Christmas wish, Leiden, December 2023 - 2.jpg|thumb|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]].{{sfnp|Ross|1977|p=56}}{{sfnp|Patterson|1970|p=14}} In Finland too, the Suomi version of Father Christmas will show up at the door bringing gifts to the children.{{sfnp|Ross|1977|p=56}} 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.{{sfnp|Patterson|1970|p=32}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|name="no_reindeer"}}

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 {{lang|da|julemand}} lives on [[Greenland]], and the Finnish {{lang|fi|[[joulupukki]]}} (in Finland he is still called the ''Yule Goat'', although his animal features have disappeared) lives in [[Lapland (Finland)|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 and the Grocer|The Goblin at the Grocer's]]"{{efn|{{lang|da|Nissen hos Spækhøkeren}}.}} as aforementioned, as well as "The Goblin and the Woman" ({{lang|da|Nissen og Madammen}})<ref name="binding-nisse"/><ref>{{harvp|Olrik|Ellekilde|1926|p=292}};{{harvp|Nilsson|1927|p=173}}</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 {{lang|sv|[[Selma Lagerlöf]]}}, {{lang|sv|[[The Wonderful Adventures of Nils|Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige]]}} (''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. {{ISBN|978-0-399-23477-4}}</ref> When adapting the mainly English-language concept of {{lang|sv|tomten}} having helpers (sometimes in a [[Santa's workshop|workshop]]), {{lang|sv|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.

Nisser/tomte often appear in [[Nordic Christmas calendar|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 (fantasy)|magic]].

The 2018 animated series [[Hilda (TV 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 {{lang|sv|trädgårdstomte}} in Swedish,<ref name="GreatDictEnSw-gardengnome">Eisenhauer, Benjamin Maximilian ''The Great Dictionary English - Swedish''. s.v."{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmIlEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT1648|2=garden gnome}}"</ref> {{lang|da|havenisse}} in Danish, {{lang|no|hagenisse}} in Norwegian<ref name="Glosbe-da-gardengnome">Glosbe (Dansk) "{{URL|1=https://da.glosbe.com/en/da/garden%20gnome|2=garden gnome}}": havenisse, accessed 2024-11-29</ref><ref name="Glosbe-nb-gardengnome">Glosbe (Norsk bokmål) "{{URL|1=https://da.glosbe.com/en/da/garden%20gnome|2=garden gnome}}": hagenisse, accessed 2024-11-29</ref> and {{lang|fi|puutarhatonttu}} in Finnish.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}<!--move to separate [[tonttu]] article-->

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Brownie (elf)|Brownie]] (Scotland and England)
* {{lang|ru-Latn|[[Domovoi]]}} (Slavic)
* {{lang|es|[[Duende (mythology)|Duende]]}} (Spain, Hispanic America)
* [[Dwarf (mythology)|Dwarf]]
* [[Elf]]
* [[Christmas elf]]
* [[Gnome]]
* {{lang|de|[[Heinzelmännchen]]}} (Germany)
* {{lang|nl|[[Kabouter]]}} (The Netherlands)
* [[Hob (folklore)|Hob]] (Northern England)
* [[Household deity]]
** {{lang|la|[[Lares (Roman deities)|Lares]]}} (Roman)
** [[List of Lithuanian household gods]]
* {{lang|de|[[Kobold]]}} (Germany)
* [[Legendary creature]]
* [[Leprechaun]] (Ireland)
* {{lang|da|[[Niß Puk|Nis Puk]]}} (in Schleswig/Southern Jutland, now divided between Denmark (Northern Schleswig) and Germany (Southern Schleswig)
* [[Santa Claus]]
* [[Sprite (creature)|Sprite]]
* [[Spiriduș]] (Romania)
* {{lang|fi|[[Tonttu]]}} or {{lang|fi|Haltija}} (Finland)
* [[Tudigong]]
* {{lang|non|[[Vættir]]}}
* [[Yule Lads]] (Iceland)
{{div col end}}

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|1=30em|refs=
<ref name="aasen-gardvord">{{harvp|Aasen|1873}} ''Norsk ordbog'' s.v. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=KLhOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA210 gardvord]".</ref>
<ref name="aasen-tufte">{{harvp|Aasen|1873}} ''Norsk ordbog'' s.v. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=KLhOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA843 Tufte]". {{'}}''vætte'', ''nisse'', unseen neighbor, in the majority ''ellefolk'' (elf-folk) or {{interlanguage link|underjordiske|no|underjordiske|lt=''underjordiske''}} (underground folk) but also (regionally) in the [[Nordland]] and [[Trondheim]] ''tuftefolk''{{'}}.</ref>

<ref name="AmerSwedMo1961">{{cite journal|author=<!--no byline; letter from Sweden--> |author-link= |title= Festivals in Sweden |journal=The American Swedish Monthly |volume=55 |number=1 |date=January 1961 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=intfJZhE87UC&q=%22sleigh+loaded%22 |page=62<!--60–-->}}</ref>

<ref name="allardt1889">{{cite book|editor-last=Allardt|editor-first=Anders |editor-link=:sv:Anders Allardt |chapter=15. Andeväsenden och naturgudomligheter. d) Tomten  |title=Nyländska folkseder och bruk, vidskepelse m.m |location=Helsingfors	|publisher=Tidnings & Tryckeri |date=1889|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2jgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA120 |page=120}}</ref>

<ref name="andersen1890">{{cite journal|last=Andersen |first=Vilhelm |author-link=Vilhelm Andersen |title=Gentagelsen. En Sproglig Studie |journal=Dania |volume=1|date=1890 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IczYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA206 |page=206<!--198–225-->}}</ref>

<ref name="anichkof1894">{{cite journal|last=Anichkof  |first=Eugene |author-link=<!--Eugene Anichkof--> |title=St. Nicolas and Artemis |journal=Folk-Lore |volume=5 |date=1894 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avkLyKBp_OQC&pg=PA119 |page=119<!--108–120-->}}</ref>

<ref name="arill">{{cite book|last=Arill |first=David |author-link=<!-- David Arill --> |chapter=Tomten och gasten (Frändefors) |title=Tro, sed och sägen: folkminnen |publisher=Wettergren & Kerber |date=Autumn 1924 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=88TYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Tomtarna |page=45 |language=sv}}</ref>

<ref name="arndt1857">{{cite book|last=Arndt |first=Arvid August |author-link=Ernst Moritz Arndt |title=Vom nordischen Hausbau und Hausgeist: Ein Schreiben an Herrn Geheimen Justiz-Rath Michelsen |location=Jena |publisher=Friedrich Frommann |year=1857|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FpUpkCqVDwkC&pg=PA7 |pages=7–9}}</ref>

<ref name="asbjornsen-NFHE-gammeldags-juleaften">{{harvp|Asbjørnsen|1896}} [1879]. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=vxITAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 En gammeldags juleaften]", pp. 1–19;<!--[1879] pp. 1–18.--> {{harvp|Braekstad |1881}} tr. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=8nYsWIjf7s4C&pg=PA1 An Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve]". pp. 1–18.</ref>
<ref name="asbjornsen-NFHE-aftenstund">{{harvp|Asbjørnsen|1896}} [1879]. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=vxITAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA281 En aftenstund i et proprietærkjøkken]", pp. 263–284;<!--[1879] pp. 281–304.--> {{harvp|Braekstad|1881}} tr. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=8nYsWIjf7s4C&pg=PA248 An Evening in the Squire's Kitchen]". pp. 248–268.</ref>
<ref name="asbjornsen&moe-NFHE-aftenstund1911">{{harvp|Asbjørnsen|Moe|1911}} [1879] (Text revised by Moltke Moe). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=vLQxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA129 En aftenstund i et proprietærkjøkken]", p. 129</ref>
<ref name="atkinson1865">{{cite journal |last=Atkinson |first=J. C. |author-link=<!--J. C. Atkinson--> |title=Comparative Danish and Northumbrian Folk Lore Chapter IV. The House Spirit |journal=The Monthly Packet of Evening Readings for Members of the English Church |volume=29 |issue=174|date=June 1865 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEdZ6GIuoT4C&pg=PA586 |page=586<!--579–587-->}}</ref>

<ref name="baughman2012">{{cite book|last=Baughman |first=Ernest W. |author-link=<!--Ernest W. Baughman--> |chapter=F. Marvels |title=Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |date=2012|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uk-W8g_68b8C&pg=PA230 |page=230|isbn=<!--3111402770, -->9783111402772}}</ref>

<ref name="bergman1984">{{cite journal |last=Bergman |first=Anne |author-link=<!--Anne Bergman (1951- )--> |title=Julbockar, julgubbar eller jultomtar. Något om julklappsutdelarna i Finland |journal=Budkavlen |volume=63 |date=1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxHaAAAAMAAJ |page=32<!--25–51-->}}</ref>

<ref name="beveridge2014">{{cite book|last=Beveridge |first=Jan |author-link=<!--Jan Beveridge--> |chapter=8 Household Spirits |title=Children into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |date=2014 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2vaBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 |page=71 <!--71–78-->|isbn=<!--0773596178, -->9780773596177|jstor=j.ctt14bs0gg.14}}</ref>

<ref name="birt1987">{{cite book|last=Birt |first=Hazel Lauttamus |author-link=<!--Hazel Lauttamus Birt--> |title=The Festivals of Finland |location=Winnipeg |publisher=Hazlyn Press |date=1987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQHgAAAAMAAJ&q=saunatonttu |pages=12–13 |isbn=<!--096930241X, -->9780969302414}}</ref>

<ref name="brynildsen-nisse">{{harvp|Brynildsen|1927}} ''Norsk-engelsk ordbok'' s.v. "[https://archive.org/details/b29827449/page/614/mode/2up 2nisse]", '(hob)goblin'.<!--p.615, 2nd column--></ref>
<ref name="brynildsen-tufte">{{harvp|Brynildsen|1927}} ''Norsk-engelsk ordbok'' s.v. "[https://archive.org/details/b29827449/page/1058/mode/2up tuftekall]", see tunkall; tuften, see Tomten.</ref>
<ref name="berg1947">{{cite book|last=Berg |first=Gösta |author-link=:sv:Gösta Berg|title=Det glada sverige: våra fester och hogtider genom tiderna |location=Stockholm |publisher=Natur och kultur |date=1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WzUAAAAMAAJ&q=vitskäggig |page=10}}</ref>
<ref name="binding-apud-briggs">{{harvp|Binding|2014}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=G4M6AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT614 endnote 23] to Chapter 4,. Citing Briggs, Katherine (1976). ''A Dictionary of Fairies''.</ref>
<ref name="binding-nisse">{{harvp|Binding|2014}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=G4M6AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT403 Chapter 9, §6] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=G4M6AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT648 endnote 95].</ref>
<ref name="bl-svenska-man">{{cite book|chapter=Rühs, Fredrik (Friedrich Rühs) |title=Biographiskt Lexicon öfver namnkunnige svenska män: R - S |volume=13 |location=Upsala |publisher=Wahlström |year=1847 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WMs5AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA232 |page=232}}</ref>
<ref name="bugge_k.1934">{{cite book|last=Bugge |first=Kristian |author-link=:no:Kristian Bugge |title=Folkeminneoptegnelser: et utvalg |location=Norsk folkeminnelag |publisher=Norsk folkeminnelag |date=1934 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lexIZOFFeMC&q=r%C3%B8mmegr%C3%B8t|page=74|series=Norsk folkeminnelag 34}}</ref>

<ref name="castren1853">{{cite book|last=Castrén |first=Matthias Alexander |author-link=Matthias Alexander Castrén |others=Übertragen von [[Franz Anton Schiefner|Anton Schiefner]] |title=Vorlesungen über die finnische Mythologie |publisher=Buchdr. der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften; zu haben bei Eggers |date=1853 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I6wWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA165　|page=165}}</ref>
<ref name="christiansen&iversen-tuftefolk">{{harvp|Christiansen|2016}} [1960]. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=4iRCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 The Tufte-Folk on Sandflesa]". pp. 61–66.</ref>

<ref name="croker1828">{{cite book|last=Croker  |first=T. Crofton |author-link=T. Crofton Croker |chapter=On the Nature of Elves. § 11 Connexion with Mankind |title=Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland |volume=3 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |date=1828 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=skzcbsS_z0MC&pg=PA111　|pages=111–112}}</ref>

<ref name="crump2022">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Crump |first=William D. |author-link=<!--William D. Crump--> |entry=Norway |title=The Christmas Encyclopedia |edition=4 |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |year=2022 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rLujEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA386 |page=386<!--unpaginated--> |isbn=<!--1476647593, -->9781476647593}}</ref>

<ref name="dahl&hammer-dict-nisse">Dahl, Bendt Treschow; Hammer, Hans edd. (1914). ''Dansk ordbog for folket'' s.v. {{URL|1= https://books.google.com/books?id=1gA2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA66 |2=Nisse}}", '''2''': 66</ref>

<ref name="DKwriters2018-lagerlof">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Celtel |first1=Kay |author1-link=<!--Kay Celtel--> |last2=Cleary |first2=Helen |author2-link=<!--Helen Cleary--> |last3=Grant |first3=R. G. |author3-link=<!--R. G. Grant--> |last4=Kramer|first4=Ann |author4-link=<!--Ann Kramer--> |last5=Loxley |first5=Diana |author5-link=<!--Diana Loxley--> |last6=Ripley |first6=Esther |author6-link=<!--Esther Ripley--> |last7=Seymour-Ure |first7=Kirsty |author7-link=<!--Kirsty Seymour-Ure--> |last8=Vincent |first8=Bruno |author8-link=<!--Bruno Vincent--> |last9=Weeks |first9=Marcus |author9-link=<!--Marcus Weeks--> |last10=Zaczek|first10=Iain |author10-link=<!--Iain Zaczek--> |others=Peter Hulme (content consultant) |entry=Selma Lagerlöf |title=Writers: Their Lives and Works |publisher=DK |date=2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4SzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA165 |page=165 |isbn=<!--1465483489, -->9781465483485}}</ref>

<ref name="eichberg2018">{{cite book|last=Eichberg |first=Henning |author-link=Henning Eichberg |editor-last=Larsen |editor-first=Signe Højbjerre |editor-link=<!--Signe Højbjerre Larsen--> |chapter=Chapter 11 Nisser: The playful small people of Denmark |title=Play in Philosophy and Social Thought |publisher=Routledge |date=2018 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQtpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT292 |page=292 |isbn=<!--0429838697, -->9780429838699}}</ref>
<ref name="EtymOrdbogNorske-pikkelhue">''Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog'' s.v. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SMRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA56 |2=Pikkelhue}}", [[Hjalmar Falk|Falk, Hjalmar]]; [[Alf Torp|Torp, Alf]] edd., '''2''': 56.</ref>
<ref name="falk&torp-nisse">{{harvp|Falk|Torp|1906}} s. v. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=-SMRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA13 nisse]".</ref>

<ref name="feilberg1904">{{cite book|last=Feilberg |first=Henning Frederik |author-link=Henning Frederik Feilberg |title=Jul: Julemørkets löndom, juletro, juleskik |location=København |publisher=Schubotheske forlag |year=1904 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BxEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA18 |pages=18–20}}</ref>

<ref name="flatin1940">{{cite book|last=Flatin |first=Tov |author-link=:no:Tov Flatin |title=Seljord |volume=2 |location= |publisher=Johansen & Nielsen |year=1940 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MeonAQAAMAAJ&q=nisse|page=206 |quote=Der nede ved Bøkkerdalsstranden mødte vonde Lafrantz engang en liden Tusse (Nisse) som bar paa en stor Kornsæk}}</ref>

<ref name="FrasersMag1857">{{cite journal|author=Macc da Cherda |author-mask=Macc da Cherda (pseudonym of [[Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar)|Whitley Stokes]]) |title=The Mythology of Finland |journal=Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country |volume=55 |number=329 |date=May 1857 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fwr3FZ9Y5lQC&pg=PA532 |page=532 <!--523–537-->}}</ref>
<ref name="gundarsson2021">{{cite book|last=Gundarsson |first=Kveldúlf |author-link=Stephan Grundy |title=Amulets, Stones & Herbs |location= |publisher=The Three Little Sisters |year=2021|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f6zdEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA424 |page=424 |isbn=978-1-989033-62-3}}</ref>

<ref name="Grimm-DM-nisse">{{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Grimm|Stallybrass tr.|1883}}|last=Grimm |first=Jacob |author-link=Jacob Grimm |others=Translated by James Steven Stallybrass |chapter=XVII. Wights and Elves §Elves, Dwarves |title=Teutonic Mythology |volume=2 |publisher=W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen |year=1883 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ektAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA504 |pages=504–505<!--439–517-->}}</ref>

<ref name="haavio1942">{{cite book|last=Haavio |first=Martti |author-link=Martti Haavio |title=Suomalaiset kodinhaltiat|trans-title=Finnish household gods |location=Helsinki |publisher= Werner Söderström |year=1942 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9wPaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22tonttu-ukko%22 |page=147 |quote=tonttu - ukko selvästi on kirjallislähtöinen » joulutonttu}}</ref>

<ref name="hagen1837">{{cite journal|last=Hagen |first=Friedrich Heinrich von der |author-link=Friedrich Heinrich von der Hagen |title=Heidnischer Aberglaube aus dem Gewissenspiegel des Predigers Martin von Amberg. |journal=Germania |volume=2 |date=1837 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agZJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA65 |page=65<!--63–65-->}}</ref>
<ref name="henrikson&törngren&Hansson1981">{{cite book|last1=Henrikson |first1=Alf |author1-link=Alf Henrikson |last2=Törngren |first2=Disa |author2-link=:sv:Disa Törngren |last3=Hansson |first3=Lars |author3-link=<!--Lars Hansson (1933-1998)--> |title=Hexikon: en sagolik uppslagsbok |location= |publisher=Trevi |year=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1QLAQAAMAAJ&q=Nystr%C3%B6m |pages=<!--unpaginated--> |isbn=<!--9171604987, -->9789171604989 |quote=Nyström som gav honom den yttre apparitionen ; hennes egen far fick stå modell , men hon tog vissa drag i själva gestalten från gamla lappgubbar.}}</ref>
<ref name="HistDictDenmark-thomas2016">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Thomas |first=Alastair H. |author-link=<!--Alastair H. Thomas--> |entry=Folklore |title=Historical Dictionary of Denmark |edition=3 |location= |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2016 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPq6DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193 |pages=<!--unpaginated--> |isbn=<!--1442264659, -->9781442264656}}</ref>

<ref name="hofberg1882">{{cite book|last=Hofberg |first=Herman |author-link=:sv:Herman Hofberg |chapter=Tomten |title=Svenska folksägner|location=Stockholm |publisher=Fr. Skoglund |date=1882 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59H1ZaS8OakC&pg=PA106 |pages=106–108}}</ref>

<ref name="holmberg1927">{{cite book|last=Holmberg |first=Uno |author-link=Uno Harva |chapter=Chapter I. Section x. Household Spirits  |title=Finno-Ugric, Siberian [Mythology] |location=Boston |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |date=1927 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pYYAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA171 |pages=171–172<!--159–174--> |series=Mythology of all races 4 }}</ref>

<ref name="hopman2020">{{cite book|last=Hopman |first=Ellen Evert |author-link=Ellen Evert Hopman|chapter=A Primer on Fairies and Helpful Spirits |title=The Sacred Herbs of Spring: Magical, Healing, and Edible Plants to Celebrate Beltaine |location= |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsOsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP34&dq=%22garden+gnome%22 |page=<!--e-text--> |isbn=<!--1644110660, -->9781644110669}}</ref>

<ref name="hulan1989">{{cite journal|last=Hulan |first=Richard H.  |author-link=<!--Richard H. Hulan--> |others=Photo by Johng Gibbs|title=Good Yule: The Pagan Roots of Nordic Christmas Customs |journal=Folklife Center News |volume=11|number=1 |date=Winter 1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JsJcEjK0xcC&pg=PA8 |page=8<!--5–8--> |publisher=American Folklife Center, Library of Congress}}</ref>

{{void|<ref name="ingebretsens">{{cite web |url=https://www.ingebretsens.com/culture/traditions/legend-of-nisse-and-tomte |title=Legend of the Nisse and Tomte |publisher=Ingebretsen's Scandinavia Gifts |access-date=June 1, 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605202418/https://www.ingebretsens.com/culture/traditions/legend-of-nisse-and-tomte}}</ref>}}

<ref name="karlsson2009">{{cite journal|last=Karlsson |first=Helena |author-link=<!--Helena Karlsson--> |title=Reflections on My Twenty-First-Century Swedish Christmas |journal=The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly |volume=60 |number=1 |date=January 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4InAQAAMAAJ&q=Tomte|page=28<!--25–31-->}}</ref>

<ref name="knudsen1880-gnome">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Knudsen |first=Knud |author-link=Knud Knudsen (linguist) |entry=Gnome |title=TUnorsk og norsk, eller, fremmedords avløsning |location=Christiania |publisher=Albert Cammermeyer |year=1880|entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hbc9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA275 |page=275}}</ref>

<ref name="kulonen1994">{{cite journal|last=Kulonen|first=Ulla-Maija |author-link=:fi:Ulla-Maija Kulonen |title=Miten Joulu Joutui Meille? |trans-title=How Did Christmas Come to Us? |journal=Hiidenkivi: suomalainen kulttuurilehti |volume=1 |date=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-_WAAAAMAAJ&q=Joulutonttu |pages=22–23 |quote=Myös joulutonttu on ilmiönä mel-ko nuori , vaikka tontut ovatkin osa vanhaa skandinaavista mytologiaa..}}</ref>

<ref name="landtman1919">{{cite book|editor-last=Landtman |editor-first=Gunnar |editor-link=Gunnar Landtman |title=Folktro och trolldom: Overnaturliga väsen |location=Helsingfors |publisher=Tidnings & Tryckeri |date=1919 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qsLvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA407 |page=407|series=Finlands svenska folkdiktning 7}}</ref>

<ref name="laurin&hannover&thiis1922">{{cite book|last1=Laurin |first1=Carl Gustaf |author1-link=:no:Carl Gustaf Laurin |last2=Hannover |first2=Emil |author2-link=:da:Emil Hannover |last3=Thiis |first3= Jens |author3-link= Jens Thiis |title=Scandinavian Art: Illustrated |location=|publisher=American-Scandinavian Foundation |date=1922 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lqwgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA303 |pages=303–304}}</ref>

<ref name="lecouteux2013">{{cite book|last=Lecouteux |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Lecouteux |chapter=The Manifestations of Household Spirits |title=The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2013 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kl8oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT157 |page=PT157 |isbn=<!--1620551446, -->9781620551448}}</ref>

<ref name="lecouteux-dict-niss">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Lecouteux |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Lecouteux |entry=NISS |title=Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2016 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT172 |at=Fig. 61 |isbn=<!--162055481X, -->9781620554814}}</ref>
<ref name="lecouteux-dict-tomte">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Lecouteux |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Lecouteux |entry=TOMTE⇒HOUSEHOLD/PLACE SPIRITS, NISS |title=Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2016 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT240 |at=Fig. 88 |isbn=<!--162055481X, -->9781620554814}}</ref>

<ref name="LLBA">{{citation|title=9810010 Grønvik, Oddrun.. Ordet ''nisset'', etc. |journal=Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts |volume=32 |number=4 |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAYQAQAAMAAJ&q=nisse |page=2058 |quote=it is argued that the current material does not give an accurate picture of their distribution in the 19th century}}</ref>

<ref name="mannhardt1868">{{cite book|last=Mannhardt|first=Johann Wilhelm Emanuel |author-link=Wilhelm Mannhardt |title=Die Korndämonen: Beitrag zur germanischen Sittenkunde |location=Berlin |publisher=Dümmler (Harrwitz und Gossmann) |date=1868|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DG5fAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA41|at=p. 41, note 54)}}</ref>

<ref name="mansikka1916">{{cite journal|last=Mansikka |first=Viljo |author-link=:ru:Мансикка, Вильо Йоханнес |title=Kritika i biblíografíya: finskoy etnograficheskoy literatury |script-title=ru:Критика и библіографія: Изъ финской этнографической литературы |trans-title=Criticism and bibliography: From Finnish ethnographic literature |journal=Zhivaya Starina |script-journal=ru:Живая старина |volume=25 |issue=4 |year=1916 |url=https://books.google.com/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&pg=RA1-PA200 |page=200<!--199–231-->|language=ru}}</ref>

<ref name="mantecabulletin2013">{{cite news|last=Borba |first=Brooke |author-link=<!--Brooke Borba --> |title=Keeping Swedish culture alive with St. Lucia Day, Tomte |newspaper=Manteca Bulletin |date=3 December 2013 |url=http://www.mantecabulletin.com/archives/60065/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203041425/http://www.mantecabulletin.com/archives/60065/ |archive-date=2013-12-03 |access-date=2 December 2013}}</ref>

{{void|<ref name="minnpost2011">{{cite news|last=Sparber |first=Max |author-link=<!--Max Sparber --> |title=Tomte: Scandinavian Christmas traditions at the American Swedish Institute |newspaper=Minnpost |date=6 December 2011 |url=http://www.minnpost.com/max-about-town/2011/12/tomte-scandinavian-christmas-traditions-american-swedish-institute |access-date=2 December 2013 |quote=The Norwegians think the tomtes have four fingers, and some people in Scandinavia think tomtes have glowing eyes, or, horrifyingly, just one eye. But they are rarely seen, so this is mostly conjecture. Also, tomtes may be poisonous.}}</ref>}}<!--This used as fakesource for claims not in this newspaper; the "four finger" "poison" could well be wiki generated info, not confirmed by reliable enough sources-->

<ref name="mckinnel&ashurst&kick2006">{{cite book|last1=McKinnell |first1=John |author1-link=<!--John McKinnell--> |last2=Ashurst |first2=David |author2-link=<!--David Ashurst--> |last3=Kick|first3=Donata |author3-link=<!--Donata Kick-->|title=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 |publisher=Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Durham University |date=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSriAAAAMAAJ&q=nisse |page=299|isbn=<!--0955333504, -->9780955333507}}</ref>
<ref name="norske-allkunnebok">{{cite book|editor-last=Sudman |editor-first=Arnulv |editor-link=<!--Arnulv Sudman--> |chapter=Nisse |title=Norsk allkunnebok |volume=8 |location=Oslo |publisher=Fonna forlag |year=1948 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LooVAQAAMAAJ&q=tuftekall |page=232}}</ref>
<ref name="olaus">{{cite book|author=Olaus Magnus |author-link=Olaus Magnus |chapter=Liber III. Cap. XXII. De ministerio dæmonum |title=Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus |location=Rome |publisher=Giovanni M. Viotto |year=1555 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O9lEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA127 |pages=127–128}}</ref>
<ref name="olaus-eng">{{cite book|author=Olaus Magnus |author-link=Olaus Magnus |editor-last=Foote |editor-first=Peter |editor-link=Peter Foote |chapter=Book Three, Chapter Twenty-two: On the services performed by demons |title=Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus: Romæ 1555 |others=<!--Peter Fisher (translator) (born 1934)-->Fisher, Peter;, [[Humphrey Higgins|Higgens, Humphrey]] (trr.) |trans-title=Description of the Northern Peoples: Rome 1555|location= |publisher=Hakluyt Society |date=1998 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txkOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182 |at=p. 182 and notes (p. 191)|isbn=0-904180-43-3 |quote=}}</ref>
<ref name="olaus-CartaMarina">{{cite book|author=Olaus Magnus |author-link=Olaus Magnus |editor-last=Brenner |editor-first=Oscar |editor-link=:de:Oskar Brenner |chapter=Die ächte Karte des Olaus Magnus vom Jahre 1539 nach dem Exemplar de Münchener Staatsbibliothek |title=Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-selskabet i Christiania |location= |publisher=Trykt hos Brøgger & Christie |date=1887<!--21 September 1886--> |orig-date=1539 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elFLAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA13-PA7 |at=B, k; pp. 7–8 |quote=K demonia assumptis corporibus serviunt hominibus}}</ref>

<ref name="perry2020">{{cite book|last=Perry |first=Joe |author-link=<!--Joe Perry (historian)--> |chapter=Germany and Scandinvia |editor-last=Larsen |editor-first=Timothy |editor-link=Timothy Larsen |title=The Oxford Handbook of Christmas |location= |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WS8DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA450 |page=450<!--445–462--> |isbn=<!--0192567136, -->9780192567130}}</ref>

<ref name="raudvere2021">{{cite book|last=Raudvere |first=Catharina |author-link=<!--Catharina Raudvere--> |chapter=2. Imagining of the Nightmare Hag |title=Narratives and Rituals of the Nightmare Hag in Scandinavian Folk Belief |location= |publisher=Springer Nature |date=2021 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnggEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |pages=82–83<!--49–86--> |isbn=<!--3030489191, -->9783030489199}}</ref>

<ref name="ross1977">{{cite book|last=Ross |first=Corinne  |author-link=<!--Corinne Ross--> |editor-last=Lopez |editor-first=Jadwiga |editor-link=<!--Jadwiga Lopez--> |title=Christmas in Scandinavia |publisher=World Book Encyclopedia |date=1977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWu4mH6uZugC&q=nisse |page=45 |isbn=<!--0716620030, -->9780716620037 |quote=As long as the farmer stayed on good terms with his nisse, all would be well --otherwise , disaster would strike . An almost- full bucket of milk would mysteriously overturn, a harness strap would break, or the cream might sour. }}</ref>

<ref name="sayers1997">{{cite journal|last=Sayers |first=William |author-link=<!--William Sayers--> |title=The Irish Bóand-Nechtan Myth in the Light of Scandinavian Evidence |journal=Scandinavian-Canadian Studies |volume=2 |date=1997 |url=https://hcmc.uvic.ca/~scancan/pdf/vol01.pdf |page=66<!--63–73-->}}</ref>

<ref name="sklute1970">{{cite book|last=Sklute|first=Barbro  |author-link=<!--Barbro Sklute--> |title=Legends and Folk Beliefs in a Swedish American Community: A Study in Folklore and Acculturation |location= |publisher=SIndiana University |date=1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCDXAAAAMAAJ&q=braided |pages=132, 272–274}}</ref>

<ref name="svensson1942">{{cite journal |last=Svensson |first=Sigfrid |author-link=:sv:Sigfrid Svensson |title=Jultomten, Bygd och yttervärld |journal=Nordiska Museets Handlingar |volume=15 |date=1942 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z29_HN0SnEAC&q=Nyström |page=104<!--97–111-->}}</ref>
<ref name="swedish-council-america">{{cite journal |title=Made in Sweden: Four Delightful Christmas Products |journal=Sweden & America |publisher=Swedish Council of America |date=Autumn 1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnYOAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Tomte%22+feet+tall|page=49}}</ref>

<ref name="tangherlini1994">{{cite book|last=Tangherlini |first=Timothy R. |author-link=<!--Timothy R. Tangherlini-->  |title=Interpreting Legend Pbdirect: Danish Storytellers and their Repertoires |location= |publisher=Routledge |date=2015 |orig-date=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JbOgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 |page=168 |isbn=<!--131755065X, -->9781317550655}}</ref>

<ref name="thoms1828">{{cite book|editor-last=Thoms |editor-first=William John |editor-link=William John Thoms|chapter=The Pleasant History of Frier Rush |title=A Collection of Early Prose Romances |volume=1 |location=London | publisher=William Pickering|date=1828 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4z7fi7x1uMC&pg=RA2-PA69|pages=ii–iii}}</ref>

<ref name="törnroos2016">{{cite web|last=Törnroos |first=Benny |author-link=:sv:Benny Törnroos |title=Svenska Yles serie om julmusik: Tomten och Tomtarnas vaktparad |publisher=Yle |date=19 December 2016 |url=https://yle.fi/a/7-1145828 |accessdate=24 October 2024}}</ref>

}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Aasen |editor-first=Ivar |editor-link=Ivar Aasen |title=Norsk ordbog med dansk forklaring |edition=3 |publisher=P. T. Mallings bogtrykkeri |year=1873 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLhOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA843 }}

* {{cite book|last=Afzelius |first=Arvid August |author-link=Arvid August Afzelius |chapter=Tomtarne |title=Swenska folkets sago-häfder: eller Fäderneslandets historia, sådan d. leswat och ännu till en del leswer sägner, folksånger och andra minnesmärken |volume=2 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Zacharias Haeggström |year=1844 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtxAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA189 |pages=189–191}}
* {{cite book|last=Afzelius |first=Arvid August |author-link=Arvid August Afzelius |author-mask=2 |chapter=14. Om svenska folkets färger och klädedrägt |title=Swenska folkets sago-häfder: eller Fäderneslandets historia, sådan d. leswat och ännu till en del leswer sägner, folksånger och andra minnesmärken |volume=3 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Zacharias Haeggström |year=1841 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kWpWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA80 |pages=79–81}}

*{{cite book|editor-last=Asbjørnsen |editor-first=Peter Christen |editor-link=Peter Christen Asbjørnsen |title=Norske Huldre-Eventyr og Folkesagn, fortalte, Tredje Udgave |edition=3rd |location=Christiana |publisher=J. F. Sttensballa|year=1870 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSswLyVHPW0C&pg=PA75}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Asbjørnsen |editor-first=Peter Christen |editor-link=Peter Christen Asbjørnsen |title=Norske Folke- og Huldre-Eventyr |edition=2nd |location=Kjøbenhavn |publisher=Gyldendalske |year=1896 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxITAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Asbjørnsen |editor1-first=Peter Christen |editor1-link=Peter Christen Asbjørnsen |editor2-last=Moe |editor2-first=Jørgen |editor2-link=Jørgen Moe|title=Norske Folke- og Huldre-Eventyr |edition=Norske Kunstnere Billedudgave/Hundredaarsudgaven |others=Illustreret af P. N. Arbo; H. Gude; V. St. Lerche; Th. Kittelsen; Eilif Peterssen; A. Schneider; Otto Sinding; A. Tidemand; Erik Werenskiold; Tekstrevision af Moltke Moe |location=Kjøbenhavn |publisher=Gyldendalske |year=1911 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLQxAQAAMAAJ}}

* {{cite book|last=Binding |first=Paul |author-link=<!--Paul Binding--> |chapter=4. O. T. |title=Hans Christian Andersen: European Witness |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2014 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G4M6AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT614 |isbn=0-300-20615-1<!--, 9780300206159 -->}}

* {{cite journal|last=Berglund |first=Barbro |author-link=<!--Barbro  Berglund --> |title=Jultomtens ursprung |trans-title=The origins of the 'Jultomte' |journal=ARV. Tidskrift för Nordisk Folkminnesforskning  |volume=13 |date=1957  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UcfAAAAMAAJ&q=tomten |pages=159–172|lang=sv}}; summary in English.

*{{cite book|last=Braekstad |first=H. L. |author-link=<!--:no:Hans Lien Brækstad--> |editor-last=Braekstad |author-mask=[[:no:Hans Lien Brækstad|Brækstad, H. L.]] ed. tr. |title=Round the Yule Log: Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales |year=1881 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nYsWIjf7s4C}} [http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008103110005 Nasjonalbiblioteket copy]
* {{cite book|last=Bringsværd |first=Tor Åge |author-link=Tor Åge Bringsværd |title=Phantoms and Fairies: From Norwegian Folklore |location=Oslo |publisher=Tanum |year=1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwngAAAAMAAJ&q=nisse }}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Brynildsen |editor-first=John |editor-link=:no:John Brynildsen |title=Norsk-engelsk ordbok |location=Oslo |publisher=H. Aschehoug & co. (W. Nygaard) |year=1927 |url=https://archive.org/details/b29827449/page/1058/mode/2up }}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Celander |editor-first=Hilding |editor-link=:sv:Hilding Celander |title=Nordisk jul: Julen i gammaldags bondesed |volume=1 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Hugo Geber |year=1928 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ_gAAAAMAAJ}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Christiansen |editor-first=Reidar |editor-link=Reidar Thoralf Christiansen |translator-last=Iversen |translator-first=Pat Shaw |title=Folktales of Norway |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2016 |orig-date=1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iRCDgAAQBAJ |isbn=0-226-37520-X<!--, 9780226375205-->}}
** {{cite book|editor-last=Christiansen |editor-first=Reidar |editor-link=Reidar Thoralf Christiansen |translator-last=Iversen |translator-first=Pat Shaw |title=Folktales of Norway |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSOQci5O1KEC&pg=PA140|isbn=0226105105<!--, 9780226105109-->}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Craigie |editor-first=William Alexander |editor-link=William Alexander Craigie |translator-last=Iversen |translator-first=Pat Shaw |title=Scandinavian Folk-lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples |location=London |publisher=Alexander Gardner |year=1896 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGsKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA198}}

* {{cite book|editor1-last=Falk |editor1-first=Hjalmar |editor1-link=Hjalmar Falk |editor2-last=Torp |editor2-first=Alf |editor2-link=Alf Torp |title=Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog |volume=2 |location=Krisitiania |publisher=H. Aschehoug (W. NyGaard) |year=1906 |orig-date=1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SMRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA13 }}

* {{cite book|last=Faye |first=Andreas |author-link=Andreas Faye |chapter=Nissen |title=Norske Sagn |location=Arendal |publisher=N. C. Halds Bogtrykkerie |date=1833 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RitXAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA44 |pages=43–47 |lang=da}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Feilberg |editor-first=Henning Frederik |editor-link=Henning Frederik Feilberg |title=Nissens historie |location=København |publisher=Det Schønbergske forlag |year=1918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HrdZAAAAMAAJ|pages=}}

* {{cite journal|ref={{SfnRef|Grønvik, Oddrun|1997}}|last1=Grønvik |first1=Oddrun |author-link=:no:Oddrun Grønvik |title=Ordet ''nisse'' o.a. i dei nynorske ordsamlingane |trans-title=The Word ''nisse'' and others in the Nynorsk Word Collection |journal=Mål og Minne |volume=2 |date=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTdcAAAAMAAJ&q=%22ordet+nisse%22 |pages=149–156|language=nn}}
* {{cite journal|ref={{SfnRef|Grønvik, Ottar|1997}}|last=Grønvik |first=Ottar |author-link=Ottar Grønvik |title=Nissen |journal=Mål og Minne |volume=2 |date=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTdcAAAAMAAJ&q=nisse |pages=129–148 |language=nb}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Grundtvig |editor-first=Svend |editor-link=Svend Grundtvig |title=Gamle danske Minder i Folkemunde |volume=1 |location=Kjøbenhavn |publisher=C. G. Iversen　|year=1854 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tc1oAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP7 |pages=}}
** {{cite book|editor-last=Grundtvig |editor-first=Svend |editor-link=Svend Grundtvig |title=Gamle danske Minder i Folkemunde |volume=3 |location=Kjøbenhavn |publisher=C. G. Iversen　|year=1861 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWwAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA97 |pages=}}

*{{cite book|last=Keightley |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Keightley |chapter=Heinzelmännchen |title=The Fairy Mythology |volume=1 |location=London |publisher=William Harrison Ainsworth |year=1828 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxtEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA233 |pages=}}

* {{cite journal|last1=Knutsen |first1=Gunnar W. |author1-link=<!--Gunnar W. Knutsen--> |last2=Riisøy |first2=Anne Irene |author2-link=<!--Anne Irene Riisøy -->|title=Trolls and witches |journal=Arv: Nordic Yearbook of Folklore |volume=63 |date=2007  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZafYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22nisse%22 |pages=31–70}}; [https://www.academia.edu/20230170/Trolls_and_witches pdf text] via Academia.edu

* {{cite book|editor-last=Kristensen |editor-first=Evald Tang |editor-link=Evald Tang Kristensen |chapter=B. Nisser |title=Danske sagn: Ellefolk, nisser osv. |volume=2<!--Anden Afdeling--> |location=København |publisher=Cai M. Woel |year=1928 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad01AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA29 |pages=29–76}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Kristensen |editor-first=Evald Tang |editor-link=Evald Tang Kristensen |chapter=B. Nisser |title=Danske sagn: afd. Ellefolk, nisser o.s.v. Religiøse sagn. Lys og varsler |edition= Ny Række|volume=2<!--II. Afdeling--> |location=Århus |publisher=Jacob Zeuners Bogtrykkeri |year=1893 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UijaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA41 |pages=41–102}}

* {{cite book|editor1-last=Kvideland　|editor1-first=Reimund |editor1-link=<!--Reimund Kvideland--> |editor2-last=Sehmsdorf |editor2-first=Henning K. |editor2-link=<!--Henning K. Sehmsdorf--> |chapter=V. The Invisible Folk |title=Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1988  |volume=15 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wTCSv2CGqUC&pg=PA205 |pages=205–274 |jstor=10.5749/j.ctttszpg.9  |isbn=978-0-8166-1503-2}}

<!-- * {{cite book|last=Lecouteux |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Lecouteux |chapter=16 The Contract with the Spirits |title=Demons and Spirits of the Land: Ancestral Lore and Practices |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT151 |page= |isbn=1620554003,9781620554005}} -->

* {{cite book|last=Lindow |first=John |author-link=John Lindow|title=Swedish Legends and Folktales |location=Berkeley |publisher=Univ of California Press |year=1978 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRe6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 |pages= |isbn=0-520-03520-8}}

* {{cite book|last=Nilsson |first=Martin P:son |author-link=Martin P. Nilsson |chapter=Kindchen Jesus: ett Bidrag till Julklappens Historia |title=Religionshistoriska studier tillägnade Edvard Lehmann |location=Lund |publisher=C.W.K. Gleerup |year=1927 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBwMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA173 |pages=165–177}}

* {{cite book|last1=Olrik |first1=Axel |author1-link=Axel Olrik |last2=Ellekilde |first2=Hans |author2-link=<!--Hans Ellekilde--> |title=Nordens gudeverden |volume=1 |location=København |publisher=G.E.C. Gad |year=1926 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhYYAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA294 |pages=}}<!-- Note: the vol. 2 is dated 1951, and not previewable; it apparently explains julbukk/julbock accord. to Gunnel, though it may not refer to nisse at all.--><!--Tech. note: since vol. 2 is 1951, I  simplified citations from {{harvp|Olrik|Ellekilde|loc=''1''': 294}} → {{harvp|Olrik|Ellekilde|p=294}}.-->

* {{cite book|last=Patterson |first=Lillie |author-link=Lillie Patterson |others=Illustrated by [[Kelly Oechsli]] |title=Christmas in Britain and Scandinavia |location=Champaign, Illinois |publisher=Garrard Publishing Company |year=1970|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cG0mbO2jo-cC&q=jultomten |isbn=<!--081166564X, -->9780811665643}}

* {{cite book|last=Schön |first=Ebbe |author-link=Ebbe Schön |title=Vår svenska tomte |location=Stockholm |publisher=Natur och kultur |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yu3ZAAAAMAAJ&q=nisse |isbn=91-27-05573-6}}

* {{cite book|editor-last=Simpson |editor-first=Jacqueline |editor-link=Jacqueline Simpson |title=Penguin Book of Scandinavian Folktales |location= |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aaUrAQAAMAAJ&q=tomte |pages= |isbn=<!--0140175806, -->9780140175806}}

* {{cite book|last=Stokker |first=Kathleen |author-link=<!--Kathleen Stokker--> |title=Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land |location=St. Paul |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FngAAAAMAAJ&q=nisse |isbn=0-87351-389-4<!--, 9780873513890-->}}

* {{cite book|last=Thorpe |first=Benjamin |author-link=Benjamin Thorpe |title=Northern Mythology, Comparing the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands |volume=II |location=London |publisher=Edward Lumley |year=1851 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-lAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA92 |pages=}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* [[Viktor Rydberg]]'s [http://vrsidor.se/eng/eframetomten.html The Tomten] in English
* {{lang|da|nisse}}, [[Søren Kierkegaard|Kierkegaard]], Concluding Unscientific Postscript (Hong, 1992), p.&nbsp;40
* [https://www.amazon.com/Tomten-Astrid-Lindgren/dp/0698115910 The Tomten], by [[Astrid Lindgren]]

==External links==
{{Commons category multi|Nisser (Folklore)|Tomtar}}
* [https://runeberg.org/rydbdikt/tomten.html "Tomten"], poem in Swedish by [[Viktor Rydberg]]

{{Scandinavian folklore}}
{{Fairies}}
{{Christmas}}

[[Category:Christmas characters]]
[[Category:Christmas gift-bringers]]
[[Category:Danish folklore]]
[[Category:Legendary gnomes]]
[[Category:Holiday characters]]
[[Category:Household deities]]
[[Category:Norwegian folklore]]
[[Category:Scandinavian legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Swedish folklore]]
[[Category:Tutelary deities]]
[[Category:Winter solstice]]
[[Category:Nixies (folklore)]]