The Nisse (Tomte) Explained | Nordic Folklore

A helpful and protective creature in Scandinavian folklore, the Nisse is a friendly being associated with farmer culture, as well as Winter and Christmas time.
Music:
Suonatore di Liuto Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Evening Fall (Harp) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Starry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 License
httpcreativecommons.orglicensesby3.0
00:00 Winter and the Nisse in the Nordic Region
01:29 Physical Description of the Nisse or Tomte
01:53 The Nisse's Connection to the Land
2:17 The Nisse's Porridge, Behaviour and Magical Abilities
03:36 The Nisse and Horses
04:06 The Christianization of the Nisse
05:20 Different Types of Nisse: Ships, Saunas and Farms
06:19 The Nisse and Santa Claus
06:52 Outro

Пікірлер: 103

  • @eessppeenn001
    @eessppeenn0014 жыл бұрын

    From what I have heard, santa was a Nisse that was starving, and was hiding out in a barn. A child foind it and gave it a bowl of porridge to help it. The nisse was so thankful that it decided to give presents to all the good children every year on this day forward.

  • @Honne1064

    @Honne1064

    3 жыл бұрын

    That's an interesting origin story for Santa. Finland has this one beautiful movie called Joulutarina, I watched this when I was a kid. It's about the origin story of the Santa-Claus: *(Spoiler Warning)* He grew up in Finland 1800s (possibly in Lapland). His name in this movie is Nikolas, which is also the name of the real life Santa-Claus Saint Nicholas. His sister died drowning in this lake where Nikolas makes visits throughout the movie. Growing up Nikolas did not have parents so he was raised by the village. Every year he would get new caretakers. Everything changes one year when the final caretaker of Nikolas (since he's ~16 and soon to be adult) is this cruel Iisakki who doesn't like Nikolas when Nikolas is making toys. Iisakki starts calling Nikolas by a nickname called "Julli". Eventually Iisakki learns to appreciate Julli and he even helps him with his passion of making toys and leaving them next to houses for children to play with during Christmas. I don't remember all of the movie since I was a boy when I watched the movie. That's just a brief look on the origin story of Finnish Santa-Claus from the movie "Joulutarina" (Christmas Story). It of course has other characters and more to the plot. I really recommend watching it by yourself, I think it probably has subtitles so no need to take a Finnish studying course :D

  • @dyrepoliti

    @dyrepoliti

    3 жыл бұрын

    isn't Santa Claus more based on St. Nicholas which is not Nordic, but it's called folklore of a reason

  • @shirleymaemattthews4862

    @shirleymaemattthews4862

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Honne1064 that's a neat story, but how did he find the elves?

  • @VonJenseitsDerNordwinde

    @VonJenseitsDerNordwinde

    Жыл бұрын

    @@dyrepoliti During christianization, many folktales and legends were changed to be more Christian. Many of the Christian Saints are actually just altered versions of “pagan” legends and gods. The depiction of Santa comes from the original depiction of Father Yule (Odin). Many of the Christmas traditions are also altered versions of “pagan” traditions: trees in the house, stockings over the fireplace, etc. and aside from Rudolph (who was invented in 1939) there are 8 reindeer pulling Santa’s sled (which represent the 8 legs of Odin’s horse, Sleipnir).

  • @SK-ib5hi

    @SK-ib5hi

    4 ай бұрын

    ​@shirleymaemattthews4862 A much later addition to Santa.

  • @amandazumut3906
    @amandazumut3906 Жыл бұрын

    I'm from Denmark, and I remember as a child, we would leave porridge (Risengrød), in the attic for the gnomes (nisserne), every december!

  • @SpiderSplash_

    @SpiderSplash_

    4 ай бұрын

    Samme her i Norge, bare ikke på loftet

  • @EmilReiko
    @EmilReiko4 жыл бұрын

    the association of the nisse with the christmas is a rather modern construct

  • @denniscarroll7696
    @denniscarroll7696 Жыл бұрын

    A coworker told me of the Tomte, I told him that I would look it up on KZread. Glad I did.

  • @AZ-74
    @AZ-742 жыл бұрын

    I keep seeing these gnomes sold alongside christmas decorations and I never thought of them as farm helpers thanks for the informative video

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yes they've become popular in recent years outside of Scandinavia, but unfortunately no one really knows that they're a very old part of folklore and traditions!

  • @DevoteeofThunor

    @DevoteeofThunor

    Жыл бұрын

    @@AnnaBridgland many people actually know they come from Scandinavian paganism

  • @PpAirO5
    @PpAirO5 Жыл бұрын

    😱 OMG !!! Just checked out your fantastic Yt site. I could spend days on end watching your videos. Love that you share your knowledge on everything Myth, folklore & fairy tales. You just got a new subscreiber 👍

  • @maggieo66
    @maggieo666 жыл бұрын

    nice job on the folklore series videos. I love learning about these mysterious creatures, which I believe are magicall interdimensional beings.

  • @MonkeyKing3333

    @MonkeyKing3333

    5 жыл бұрын

    Silvermoon Reiki Healing ever heard of a soul switch? I'm pretty sure I'm becoming a nisser. I say this sincerely as weird as it is. I do love who I am becoming though he's awesome but a lil scary crazy in relation to who I was.

  • @cathleenmoyle1476

    @cathleenmoyle1476

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@MonkeyKing3333 Why do you believe you're becoming a Nisser/soul witch?

  • @Hugisa6969
    @Hugisa69694 жыл бұрын

    im danish so I like knowing all this

  • @wyattmichaelproductions

    @wyattmichaelproductions

    2 жыл бұрын

    Skål, brother (or sister haha)! I'm Norwegian/Danish!

  • @NKWTI
    @NKWTI5 жыл бұрын

    I love this stuff.

  • @authoramanpreetsingh
    @authoramanpreetsingh Жыл бұрын

    Good work ☺️

  • @Nukeskywalker45
    @Nukeskywalker456 ай бұрын

    Nisser are so cool! I love them, and want to feed them so they don't hide my stuff and bite me.

  • @scareowl9075
    @scareowl90756 жыл бұрын

    Instead of elves, we have gnomes/dwarves.

  • @halladall1

    @halladall1

    5 жыл бұрын

    Anyone translating Nisse to Goblin is a heretic.

  • @Honne1064

    @Honne1064

    3 жыл бұрын

    In Finland it's called "Tonttu" I prefer more these gnome looking ones than these elves, there's something more Christmasy with these Nordic elves than there is with those American ones. These American elves don't really have that warm and happy look on them. They don't really belong to Christmas that much, unlike the Nordic elves that look like smaller versions of Santa-Claus.

  • @Honne1064

    @Honne1064

    3 жыл бұрын

    Also Santa-Claus lives in Lapland, Finland. Not in North Pole. That's a fact!

  • @wyattmichaelproductions

    @wyattmichaelproductions

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Honne1064 I never liked Santa's elves. They always just seemed creepy, ugly, and weird. Tomte's seem so much more warm and friendly. Come to think of it, I don't care for the modern Santa all that much either. I refer to him as Klaus, and keep in mind the more realistic story.

  • @enter8976
    @enter89767 жыл бұрын

    Awesome story! I'm going to pass this story along to my students.

  • @bjrnfalch3288
    @bjrnfalch32885 жыл бұрын

    In Norway the nisse is portrayd as a local verson of santa claus. In fact, santa claus in Norwegian is Julenisse wich is basicly a mix betwen a elf and a santa claus.

  • @bjrnfalch3288

    @bjrnfalch3288

    5 жыл бұрын

    The nisse has always been a jultime creature in norse mythology, the american verson is a copy.

  • @jadefields695

    @jadefields695

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@bjrnfalch3288 are nisse and gnomes the same thing and are garden gnomes based off of nisse

  • @kooriking420
    @kooriking4205 жыл бұрын

    Love the video, I just subbed

  • @kimmariemaddison4594
    @kimmariemaddison4594 Жыл бұрын

    Brilliant x

  • @jessyh2044
    @jessyh20445 жыл бұрын

    I'm so glad I just found your channel! New subb.🐥🌼

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thank You!!

  • @underfire987
    @underfire9872 жыл бұрын

    Love rediscovering our Pagan and animist pre christen past keep up the good work.

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    2 жыл бұрын

    I plan to, thank you!

  • @marcushokkanen9211

    @marcushokkanen9211

    3 ай бұрын

    The Nisse is very interesting mythical creature from the Nordic mythology. Thanks for the story.

  • @StrigoiVampire
    @StrigoiVampire4 жыл бұрын

    Your voice is like the voice of the narrator of Magic the Gathering Battlemage. I like.

  • @Happy_HIbiscus
    @Happy_HIbiscus5 жыл бұрын

    dude, this is cool

  • @susanfarley1332
    @susanfarley13325 ай бұрын

    My daughter's swedish husband told her how his mother would greet the tomte before she stepped over the threshold of their summer house. And every year at the beginning of december would put little tomte figures all over her house every day up until christmas. All i ever learned about the tomte was that you should be respectful and every christmas eve put out a bowl of oatmeal (not sure if it was oatmeal or gruel or whatever) with some milk and a bit of butter in it. Or you would have bad luck the rest of the year. They would keep your animals from getting lost, but if you angered them a little they would tangle the manes and tails of the horses. But anger them a lot and disrespect them...well, things got lost , broken and all that.

  • @Honne1064
    @Honne10643 жыл бұрын

    Finland has this one beautiful movie called Joulutarina, I watched this when I was a kid. It's about the origin story of the Santa-Claus: *(Spoiler Warning)* He grew up in Finland 1800s (possibly in Lapland). His name in this movie is Nikolas, which is also the name of the real life Santa-Claus Saint Nicholas. His sister died drowning in this lake where Nikolas makes visits throughout the movie. Growing up Nikolas did not have parents so he was raised by the village. Every year he would get new caretakers. Everything changes one year when the final caretaker of Nikolas (since he's ~16 and soon to be adult) is this cruel Iisakki who doesn't like Nikolas when Nikolas is making toys. Iisakki starts calling Nikolas by a nickname called "Julli". Eventually Iisakki learns to appreciate Julli and he even helps him with his passion of making toys and leaving them next to houses for children to play with during Christmas. I don't remember all of the movie since I was a boy when I watched the movie. That's just a brief look on the origin story of Finnish Santa-Claus from the movie "Joulutarina" (Christmas Story). It of course has other characters and more to the plot. I really recommend watching it by yourself, I think it probably has subtitles so no need to take a Finnish studying course :D

  • @Scholar_Of_The_Martial_Arts
    @Scholar_Of_The_Martial_Arts4 жыл бұрын

    im swedish and my grandpa had a mooning tommte nisse under the qhist mas tree 0_0

  • @TheBarser

    @TheBarser

    3 жыл бұрын

    Oh yeah mooning nisse is common in gardens here in Denmark :D

  • @claudiavh2602

    @claudiavh2602

    3 жыл бұрын

    I'm Swedish but live in the USA now. Instead of Santa, we have a jultomte who brings gifts.

  • @brendarivera6058
    @brendarivera60586 жыл бұрын

    So that's what they are called I had one in one of apt I rented it was a two family house alot small hammering in the walls we ask our fist floor neighbors they said they heard it too until more than once I thought I was going crazy when by side of my eye saw this what I thought mouse with a red triangle hat walking super fast and upright things went missing and alot of other situations never experienced anything like it🤔🙄

  • @bogganalseryd2324

    @bogganalseryd2324

    4 жыл бұрын

    So cool.

  • @corydude2008

    @corydude2008

    4 жыл бұрын

    Boggan Alseryd I know right!!!

  • @cathleenmoyle1476

    @cathleenmoyle1476

    3 жыл бұрын

    Did you really have a Nisse in your house?

  • @retr0naut823
    @retr0naut8235 жыл бұрын

    Domovoi or Domovoy in Slavic tales.

  • @crystalheart9
    @crystalheart96 жыл бұрын

    Loving this series. I've heard of gnomes is the Nisse similar?

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    6 жыл бұрын

    Gnomes are similar but a bit different, in my Underground Folk episode of this series I talk about them!

  • @SpiderSplash_

    @SpiderSplash_

    4 ай бұрын

    I would argue you could translate nisse as gnome, but there are differences. They are similar in apperance, with big noses and pointy hats. However, gnomes live underground, while a nisse typically lives in a house or barn. There are some other differences too, but the gnome actually originated from the nisse.

  • @crystalheart9

    @crystalheart9

    4 ай бұрын

    @@SpiderSplash_ Interesting information, thank you for sharing.

  • @MrTrenttness
    @MrTrenttness8 ай бұрын

    🔥♥️🔥

  • @bjrnfalch3288
    @bjrnfalch32885 жыл бұрын

    A nisse can be used as a psenonym for short person.

  • @alejandroteodorus7926
    @alejandroteodorus79262 жыл бұрын

    Cute

  • @dalestevenson8947
    @dalestevenson89472 жыл бұрын

    Anna Bridgland. I love Norse mythology. Do you have any videos on the gods?

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    2 жыл бұрын

    What great timing - I actually have one coming out later today that looks a bit into Thor and his magical items and I do plan to make more videos about the gods in the near future!

  • @dalestevenson8947

    @dalestevenson8947

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@AnnaBridgland I have been a Norse mythology enthusiast since 2004. I love the Norse gods. I believe in them. I love hearing about Odin' Thor and Loki. In that mythology Loki is not evil. He's the mover of the stories. He actually helps the Aesis a lot. Thor is half Jotun like Loki. I think Thor and Loki are the same God with a split personality. Like Two-Face in the Batman universe. They're always together and they both have red hair. I think Thor is Loki when he's angry and Loki is Thor when he's smart. I'm interested in your opinion. What do you think? Do you play Skyrim. I love that game. I want to use it to reenact all the Norse myths. Thor's a badass.😁

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think personally I see Thor and Loki as brothers and separate people, but that's an interesting take on it. I did play through Skyrim when it came out, it's a fun game!

  • @reynardfox
    @reynardfox5 жыл бұрын

    Beware the Judderman my dear, when the moon is fat

  • @missymoonwillow6545
    @missymoonwillow65454 жыл бұрын

    The Borrowers. Good Book.

  • @missymoonwillow6545

    @missymoonwillow6545

    4 жыл бұрын

    Midsummer Nights Dream comes to mind too.

  • @whisper8742
    @whisper874210 ай бұрын

    La Chouffe!

  • @64jamwill
    @64jamwill5 жыл бұрын

    You have a great speaking voice do you do audio books 📖

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    5 жыл бұрын

    I haven't before, but I'd definitely love to!

  • @djynfxxbdhtbrn6854
    @djynfxxbdhtbrn68546 жыл бұрын

    Are... are they Garden Gnomes?

  • @Raidanzoup

    @Raidanzoup

    6 жыл бұрын

    I mean, every time I see garden gnomes I tend to ask if they're nisser. edit: More seriously, though: I think Garden Gnomes are based on the German dwarf, but it might just be a regional thing of North-Western Germanic folklore vs down south.

  • @kristofferlinden6306
    @kristofferlinden63063 жыл бұрын

    Vätte or is that the same thing? As nisse?

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    3 жыл бұрын

    They are usually thought of as different beings 🙂

  • @ferreus
    @ferreus7 жыл бұрын

    Heidenstam nämner inte tomtenissar här, men jag tycker den passar in: litteraturbanken.se/#!/forfattare/HeidenstamV/titlar/Dikter/sida/53/etext (3 s fram)

  • @RenanL.S.
    @RenanL.S.3 жыл бұрын

    Did I hear Enderal music?

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    3 жыл бұрын

    The songs used are in the description! Not sure if any are in the mod though :)

  • @RenanL.S.

    @RenanL.S.

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@AnnaBridgland it looked very similar for me. It is a very beatuful song.

  • @nathanara8051
    @nathanara8051Ай бұрын

    nissegrus

  • @mamacookie4948
    @mamacookie49485 жыл бұрын

    We call them gnomes

  • @shadowfury200
    @shadowfury2005 жыл бұрын

    of course religion would make it sound like they're evil.

  • @dontsubscribetome3262

    @dontsubscribetome3262

    4 жыл бұрын

    you mean christianity pagan religions are religions too

  • @cathleenmoyle1476

    @cathleenmoyle1476

    3 жыл бұрын

    Why must Christianity make them sound evil?

  • @Luka1180

    @Luka1180

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@cathleenmoyle1476 Because Christianity, as well as the two other Abrahamic religions, are vehemently polytheistic and anti-magic. Any supernatural power that is not God himself is viewed as evil and going against his will. Older gods of older religions are viewed as false gods and/or demons etc.

  • @cathleenmoyle1476

    @cathleenmoyle1476

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Luka1180 I see... I guess magic would prove that you can be strong without the one god and that's not what's desired.

  • @PpAirO5

    @PpAirO5

    Жыл бұрын

    @@cathleenmoyle1476.. Because Christianity doesn't accept magic, dark creatures and other God or God-like beings. In my opinion Christianity is more "evil" and bad, than good. So much bad has been done in the name of Christianity.

  • @Vinnie5223
    @Vinnie52233 жыл бұрын

    Why does everyone say porridge? It's risengrød which is literally rice pudding

  • @AnnaBridgland

    @AnnaBridgland

    3 жыл бұрын

    Rice pudding is baked in the oven and eaten as a dessert whereas rice porridge is cooked on the stovetop and typically eaten as a main meal, sometimes with dried meats or salami and rye crackers on the side. "Grøt" or "grød" translates better to "porridge" or "gruel" as it isn't really a dessert or pudding :)

  • @Vinnie5223

    @Vinnie5223

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@AnnaBridgland thanks for your response, I'm Danish but moved to England when I was 10 and always thought it was rice pudding. You learn something new everyday 😂

  • @Vinnie5223

    @Vinnie5223

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@AnnaBridgland I'm not saying you're wrong but I honestly don't remember anyone eating it as a savoury meal and neither can my mum, she also doesn't know of anyone who makes it in the oven. Maybe they did way back when 😅

  • @PpAirO5

    @PpAirO5

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Vinnie5223.. I believe pudding is more like "budding" in danish. A more gelly like substance for dessert.

  • @SpiderSplash_

    @SpiderSplash_

    4 ай бұрын

    Grøt is definitely porridge, not pudding. Pudding is more gelatinous. Oat porridge and havregrøt are the exact same too

  • @josiahgil
    @josiahgil3 жыл бұрын

    My mom is native mexican, she was born and raised on a ranch in the Evergreen Forests on the outskirts of La Estancia, Jalisco, Mexico. My mom tells me that when she was a little kid on her Farm she had neighbors that lived quite a distance but every now and then my mom and her brothers would go to their house and ask where the kids were so they could play, and sometimes the parents didn't know where their kids were, and other times their parents would see their kids in the backyard playing with an imaginary "friend". My mom says that the kids would chase this friend around for hours from morning to night playing, but the parents could never see the "friend" they were playing with. All i know is that eventually the parents figured out that it was a creature called a "duende" which is just the Mexican version of a gnome. I know a few more people from a church in socal, that told me about an uncle of theirs that had an expierince with a duende. These stories are definately real, but these are just demonic manifestations in the spirit realm, they are demons who diguise themselves as innocent looking creatures. Eventually they always turn violent if you don't comply with them, because they are all messangers of satan who have an agenda. I'm not afraid to talk negatively about these "beings", because the Bible says that i "have not been given the spirit of fear". These are fallen angels in cleverly disguised bodys, but i'm covered by the precious blood of Jesus, and these creatures always shake in fear if you mention the name of Jesus. If you ever see one of these "beings" ask them to "Confess that Jesus is lord and that God raised him from the dead", and watch them turn on you. They will show their true colors.

  • @cathleenmoyle1476

    @cathleenmoyle1476

    3 жыл бұрын

    Duende are not evil beings or spirits. They never hurt the children. They're like the nisse; they're only evil if you treat them that way. I have a friend who told me the story of her grandfather who met some duendes when he was a young boy; helped him with his work in the corn field in exchange for food.

  • @hail_void8844
    @hail_void88447 ай бұрын

    holland did it better.

  • @SpiderSplash_

    @SpiderSplash_

    4 ай бұрын

    I mean, Den Store Nisseboken (directly translated: The Big Book of Nisser) was originally dutch (Leven en werken van de kabouter), great book. Scandinavian version was the original, but I kinda gotta agree with you. They are pretty similar though, with the dutch version not necessarily living in human-made houses or barns being the biggest difference, to my knowledge. Still, they deserve some Risgrøt