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Tomte
A (, ), (), , or () is a household spirit from Nordic folklore which has always been described as a small human-like creature wearing a red cap and gray clothing, doing house and stable chores, and expecting to be rewarded at least once a year around winter solstice (yuletide), with the gift of its favorite food, the porridge. Although there are several suggested etymologies, ''nisse'' may derive from the given name Niels or Nicholas, introduced 15–17th century (or earlier in medieval times according to some), hence ''nisse'' is cognate to Saint Nicholas and related to the Saint Nicholas Day gift giver to children. In the 19th century the Scandinavian ''nisse'' became increasingly associated with the Christmas season and Christmas gift giving, its pictorial depiction strongly influenced by American Santa Claus in some opinion, evolving into the . The nisse is one of the most familiar creatures of Scandinavian folklore, and he has appeared in many works of Scandinavian lit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nordic Folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been under mutual influence with, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sápmi. Folklore is a concept encompassing expressive traditions of a particular culture or group. The peoples of Scandinavia are heterogenous, as are the oral genres and material culture that has been common in their lands. However, there are some commonalities across Scandinavian folkloric traditions, among them a common ground in elements from Norse mythology as well as Christian conceptions of the world. Among the many tales common in Scandinavian oral traditions, some have become known beyond Scandinavian borders – examples include The Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body. Legends * Tróndur was a powerful Viking chieftain who lived in the Faroe Islands during the 9th century. According to legend, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around the world. A liturgical year, liturgical feast central to Christianity, Christmas preparation begins on the Advent Sunday, First Sunday of Advent and it is followed by Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts Twelve Days of Christmas, twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night (holiday), Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in List of holidays by country, many countries, is observed religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as celebrated culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the annual Christmas and holiday season, holiday season. The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, known as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Gude
Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Romanticism. Gunnarsson 1998, p. 104 He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Gude's artistic career was not one marked with drastic change and revolution, but was instead a steady progression that slowly reacted to general trends in the artistic world. Gude's early works are of idyllic, sun-drenched Norwegian landscapes which present a romantic, yet still realistic view of his country. Around 1860 Gude began painting seascapes and other coastal subjects. Gude had difficulty with figure drawing initially and so collaborated with Adolph Tidemand in some of his painting, drawing the landscape himself and allowing Tidemand to paint the figures. Later Gude would work specifically on his figures while at Karlsruhe, and so began ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danish Language
Danish (, ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern Germany, German region of Southern Schleswig, where it has minority language status. Minor Danish-speaking communities are also found in Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Along with the other North Germanic languages, Danish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples who lived in Scandinavia during the Viking Age, Viking Era. Danish, together with Swedish, derives from the ''East Norse'' dialect group, while the Middle Norwegian language (before the influence of Danish) and Bokmål, Norwegian Bokmål are classified as ''West Norse'' along with Faroese language, Faroese and Icelandic language, Icelandic. A more recent c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes, have been translated into more than 125 languages. They have become embedded in Western culture, Western collective consciousness, accessible to children as well as presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers., p. 388 His most famous fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale (fairy tale), The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Red Shoes (fairy tale), The Red Shoes", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Match Girl", and "Thumbelina." Andersen's stories have inspired ballets, plays, and animated and live-action films. Early life Andersen was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobgoblin
A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a hobgoblin. Etymology The term "hobgoblin" comes from " hob". The earliest known use of the word can be traced to about 1530, although it was likely in use for some time prior to that. Folklore Hobgoblins seem to be small, hairy little men who, like their close relatives the brownies, are often found within human dwellings, doing odd jobs around the house while the family is asleep. Such chores are typically small tasks like dusting and ironing. Often, the only compensation necessary in return for these is food. While brownies are more peaceful creatures, hobgoblins are more fond of practical jokes. They also seem to be able to shapeshift, as seen in one of Puck's monologues in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Robin Goo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on the story and country of origin, ranging from mischievous Household deity, household spirits to malicious, bestial thieves. They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon, such as the ability to Shapeshifting, shapeshift. Similar creatures include brownie (folklore), brownies, dwarf (mythology), dwarves, duendes, gnomes, imps, leprechauns, and kobolds, but it is also commonly used as a blanket term for all small, fay creatures. The term is sometimes expanded to include goblin-like creatures of other cultures, such as the pukwudgie, dokkaebi, or ifrit. Etymology Alternative spellings include ''gobblin'', ''gobeline'', ''gobling'', ''goblyn'', ''goblino'', and ''gobbelin''. The term "goblette" has been used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brownie (folklore)
A brownie or broonie ( Scots), also known as a or (Scottish Gaelic), is a household spirit or hobgoblin from Scottish folklore that is said to come out at night while the owners of the house are asleep and perform various chores and farming tasks. The human owners of the house must leave a bowl of milk or cream or some other offering for the brownie, usually by the hearth. Brownies are described as easily offended and will leave their homes forever if they feel they have been insulted or in any way taken advantage of. Brownies are characteristically mischievous and are often said to punish or pull pranks on lazy servants. If angered, they are sometimes said to turn malicious, like boggarts. Brownies originated as domestic tutelary spirits, very similar to the Lares of ancient Roman tradition. Descriptions of brownies vary regionally, but they are usually described as ugly, brown-skinned, and covered in hair. In the oldest stories, they are usually human-sized or larger. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuss
Tuss is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Miklós Tuss (1898–1978), Hungarian sailor * Paul Tuss (born 1964/1965), American politician * Réka Tuss (born 1977), Hungarian alpine skier * Stefan Tuss (born 1988), German Nordic combined skier See also * Duso {{surname German-language surnames ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wight
A wight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more specific usages arising in Middle English, perhaps due to the term of similar meaning in Anglo-Norman, . The term is widely used in modern fantasy, often to mean specifically a being which is undead. Etymology Modern English "wight" is descended from or , from , from Proto-West Germanic '*wihti' from from Proto-Indo-European: '*wekti' ("cause, sake, thing"), from Proto-Indo-European "*wekʷ-" ("to say, tell"). "Wight" is further cognate with , , , and , the ancestor of , and . A dialect form in Swedish is , which, similar to the other form, is descended from Old Swedish: ''vætter''. Medieval period Old English In Old English, has been variously translated as "wight", "creature" and "being". The term is found in the compound wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knud Knudsen (linguist)
Knud Knudsen (January 6, 1812 March 30, 1895) was a Norwegian educator, author, linguist and philologist, known as "The Father of Bokmål". He is best known for having assembled from Dano-Norwegian one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Bokmål, one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language. Biography Knud Knudsen was born at Tvedestrand in Agder, Norway. He was first adjunct professor in Drammen until 1846, when he was appointed headmaster at the Christiania Cathedral School, a position he held until 1880. Knudsen became involved in the development of the national debate which resulted in the '' Riksmål'' (later ''Bokmål'') and '' Landsmål'' (later ''Nynorsk'') forms of the written Norwegian language. As an educator, he had observed that students had difficulty writing in the Danish language, when they spoke the Norwegian language Norwegian ( ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
