December 12, 2018

In our 12th Yule calendar entry, Miss Lina tells us something about the Yule-related Nordic nisse! Hmmm, could them be related to Master Potty's garden dwarf?

The nisse

If you read the calendar entry about "risgrøt" (rice porridge), you may remember that there is one character who really loves porridge: nissen*.

For some reason, the nisse has become closely associated with yule in the Nordic countries. It wasn't always so.

Originally, the nisse was a mythical creature in Nordic folklore. He was a tiny figure, less than a meter tall, sporting a long bushy white beard beneath a red conical cap.

Traditionally, the nisse was a "guardian angel" of sorts at Nordic farmsteads, where he more often than not lived at the barn. The nisse had quite the temperament, and if the farmers didn't treat him well, he would dish out his revenge in the form of small pranks, like tying the cow's tails together or breaking things. If he got real angry, his punishments could be severe, like selling off your grain or even killing your livestock.

If you were good to him, though, he would help with the harvest and take care of the farm animals. Hence, farmers often gave gifts to the nisse. And in the wintertime, near yule, he liked nothing better than a huge bowl of warm porridge, with a dollop of butter in the middle.

Eventually, the nisse was associated more strongly with yule. Around here, it isn't Santa Claus who brings gifts in the Yuletide, but julenissen**. He is sometimes accompanied by his yule goat, and he delivers the gifts at your door in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. Naturally, this means that many little ones stand around guarding the doorways, hoping to bust the nisse when he arrives. And many a father/grandfather curse loudly as they try to fit into a julenisse outfit after a heavy yule lunch or dinner...

Julenissen delivering gifts

Given his central position in the Nordic yule, the nisse figures heavily in yule decorations around here. Many houses put a lot of nisse figures and dolls on display when yule nears. Most children learned early on to make a nisse out of the cardboard core of toiled paper rolls. A lot of the yule food sold in the stores sport a nisse figure. He is pretty much everywhere.

So, if yer see a red hat tip in the bushes as yule nears, spare a thought for the Nordic nisse. Oh, and be sure to put out a bowl of porridge. With a huge dollop of butter in the middle. Yer don't want to get on his bad side, surely?

* Nisse is used in Norway and Denmark. In Sweden he is called tomte, while in Finland he's known as tonttu.
** Julenissen (Norway), Julemanden/nissen (Denmark), Joulutonttu (Finland), Jultomten (Sweden)

Pictures from: Wikipedia commons