Tomte

A tomte ['tɔ`m:tɛ] or nisse ['nìs:ɛ] is a mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore, believed to take care of a farmer's home and barn and protect it from misfortune, in particular at night, when the housefolk

A tomte ['tɔ`m:tɛ] or nisse ['nìs:ɛ] is a mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore, believed to take care of a farmer's home and barn and protect it from misfortune, in particular at night, when the housefolk were asleep. Tomte is the common Swedish name, derived from his place of residence and area of influence: the house lot or tomt. Nisse is the common name in Norwegian, Danish and the Scanian dialect in southernmost Sweden; it is a nickname for Nils, and its usage in folklore comes from expressions such as Nisse god dreng ("Nisse good lad/boy," cf. Robin Goodfellow).

The tomte was often imagined as a small, elderly man (exact size varies from a few inches to about half the height of an adult man) with a full beard, gray or white; dressed in ordinary, gray clothing, whith the exeption of a bright-red knitted cap. As he was thought to be skilled in illusions and able to make himself invisible, one was unlikely to get more than brief glimpses of him, though.