The Nisse (Tomte) Explained | Nordic Folklore

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  • Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
  • 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

Комментарии • 103

  • @eessppeenn001
    @eessppeenn001 5 лет назад +78

    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.

    • @HonnePerkele
      @HonnePerkele 3 года назад +10

      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 года назад +3

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

    • @shirleymaemattthews4862
      @shirleymaemattthews4862 2 года назад

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

    • @Mondlicht333
      @Mondlicht333 Год назад +6

      @@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 7 месяцев назад

      ​@shirleymaemattthews4862 A much later addition to Santa.

  • @amandazumut3906
    @amandazumut3906 2 года назад +7

    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_ 7 месяцев назад +1

      Samme her i Norge, bare ikke på loftet

  • @EmilReiko
    @EmilReiko 4 года назад +19

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

  • @denniscarroll7696
    @denniscarroll7696 Год назад +1

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

  • @AZ-74
    @AZ-74 2 года назад +5

    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 года назад +4

      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!

    • @Texasmade74
      @Texasmade74 Год назад +1

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

  • @Hugisa6969
    @Hugisa6969 4 года назад +5

    im danish so I like knowing all this

  • @PpAirO5
    @PpAirO5 Год назад +2

    😱 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
    @maggieo66 6 лет назад +12

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

    • @MonkeyKing3333
      @MonkeyKing3333 6 лет назад

      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 4 года назад

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

  • @NKWTI
    @NKWTI 5 лет назад +11

    I love this stuff.

  • @authoramanpreetsingh
    @authoramanpreetsingh Год назад +2

    Good work ☺️

  • @kooriking420
    @kooriking420 5 лет назад +4

    Love the video, I just subbed

  • @enter8976
    @enter8976 7 лет назад +2

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

  • @scareowl9075
    @scareowl9075 6 лет назад +47

    Instead of elves, we have gnomes/dwarves.

    • @halladall1
      @halladall1 5 лет назад +14

      Anyone translating Nisse to Goblin is a heretic.

    • @HonnePerkele
      @HonnePerkele 3 года назад +7

      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.

    • @HonnePerkele
      @HonnePerkele 3 года назад +5

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

    • @wyattmichaelproductions
      @wyattmichaelproductions 2 года назад +2

      @@HonnePerkele 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.

  • @Nukeskywalker45
    @Nukeskywalker45 9 месяцев назад

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

  • @jessyh2044
    @jessyh2044 5 лет назад +4

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

  • @kimmariemaddison4594
    @kimmariemaddison4594 Год назад

    Brilliant x

  • @StrigoiVampire
    @StrigoiVampire 4 года назад +2

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

  • @Happy_HIbiscus
    @Happy_HIbiscus 6 лет назад +1

    dude, this is cool

  • @HonnePerkele
    @HonnePerkele 3 года назад +6

    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

  • @brendarivera6058
    @brendarivera6058 6 лет назад +17

    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🤔🙄

  • @Scholar_Of_The_Martial_Arts
    @Scholar_Of_The_Martial_Arts 4 года назад +8

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

    • @TheBarser
      @TheBarser 3 года назад

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

    • @claudiavh2602
      @claudiavh2602 3 года назад

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

  • @susanfarley1332
    @susanfarley1332 8 месяцев назад

    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.

  • @underfire987
    @underfire987 2 года назад +2

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

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  2 года назад +2

      I plan to, thank you!

    • @marcushokkanen9211
      @marcushokkanen9211 7 месяцев назад

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

  • @retr0naut823
    @retr0naut823 5 лет назад +6

    Domovoi or Domovoy in Slavic tales.

  • @bjrnfalch3288
    @bjrnfalch3288 5 лет назад +7

    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 лет назад +6

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

    • @jadefields695
      @jadefields695 5 лет назад +2

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

  • @alejandroteodorus7926
    @alejandroteodorus7926 2 года назад

    Cute

  • @bjrnfalch3288
    @bjrnfalch3288 5 лет назад +1

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

  • @crystalheart9
    @crystalheart9 6 лет назад +6

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

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  6 лет назад +5

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

    • @SpiderSplash_
      @SpiderSplash_ 7 месяцев назад +1

      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 7 месяцев назад

      @@SpiderSplash_ Interesting information, thank you for sharing.

  • @MrTrenttness
    @MrTrenttness 11 месяцев назад

    🔥♥️🔥

  • @reynardfox
    @reynardfox 5 лет назад +3

    Beware the Judderman my dear, when the moon is fat

  • @missymoonwillow6545
    @missymoonwillow6545 4 года назад +1

    The Borrowers. Good Book.

  • @whisper8742
    @whisper8742 Год назад

    La Chouffe!

  • @dalestevenson8947
    @dalestevenson8947 2 года назад +1

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

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  2 года назад +3

      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 года назад

      @@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 года назад

      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!

  • @64jamwill
    @64jamwill 5 лет назад +3

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

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  5 лет назад +2

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

  • @djynfxxbdhtbrn6854
    @djynfxxbdhtbrn6854 6 лет назад +1

    Are... are they Garden Gnomes?

    • @Raidanzoup
      @Raidanzoup 6 лет назад +4

      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
    @kristofferlinden6306 3 года назад

    Vätte or is that the same thing? As nisse?

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  3 года назад +1

      They are usually thought of as different beings 🙂

  • @ferreus
    @ferreus 7 лет назад

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

  • @nathanara8051
    @nathanara8051 4 месяца назад

    nissegrus

  • @RenanL.S.
    @RenanL.S. 3 года назад

    Did I hear Enderal music?

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  3 года назад +1

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

    • @RenanL.S.
      @RenanL.S. 3 года назад

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

  • @mamacookie4948
    @mamacookie4948 5 лет назад +2

    We call them gnomes

  • @Vinnie5223
    @Vinnie5223 3 года назад

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

    • @AnnaBridgland
      @AnnaBridgland  3 года назад +5

      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 года назад

      @@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 года назад

      @@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 Год назад +1

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

    • @SpiderSplash_
      @SpiderSplash_ 7 месяцев назад

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

  • @shadowfury200
    @shadowfury200 5 лет назад +11

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

    • @dontsubscribetome3262
      @dontsubscribetome3262 4 года назад +3

      you mean christianity
      pagan religions are religions too

    • @cathleenmoyle1476
      @cathleenmoyle1476 4 года назад +1

      Why must Christianity make them sound evil?

    • @Luka1180
      @Luka1180 2 года назад

      @@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 года назад

      @@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 Год назад +1

      @@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.

  • @josiahgil
    @josiahgil 4 года назад

    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 года назад +2

      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_void8844 11 месяцев назад +1

    holland did it better.

    • @SpiderSplash_
      @SpiderSplash_ 7 месяцев назад

      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