Written and © by Jarno Tarkoma

Christmas gnome

Father Christmas needs helpers, goes the rationale behind this, mainly Scandinavian tradition. There are a number of gnomes (In Finnish tontut, in Swedish tomtar, Nisse in Denmark and Norway), which help Father Christmas to manufacture the presents and distribute them (We in Northern Europe just do believe in industrial production).

The tale of gnomes goes back to pagan times, when there was widespread belief in house gnomes which supposedly guarded homes against any evil (evil was ubiquitous in Viking times). These gnomes were mostly benevolent but they could be nasty if they were not properly treated. They were clad in grey with red caps. The cult of gnomes withstood the onslaught of Christianity and was eventually linked with things Christian. The oral traditions were fixed in writing in 19th century when a succession of writers (Grimm Brothers, Thiele,Topelius, Rydberg) and artists (Hansen, Nyström) created the true Christmas gnomes.

Originally these apparitions were active throughout the year but nowadays they are firmly entrenched in the Christmas time, although in Finland the children are scared by "tontut" who watch behind the windows and keep tally of the good behaviour the year round. As with all Christmas customs, local or global, the origins are forgotten and everything is intertwined with the modern folklore, Disney (whose seven dwarves bear marked resemblance to Christmas gnomes) and all...


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