{"id":1177,"date":"2014-12-25T23:45:04","date_gmt":"2014-12-25T23:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=1177"},"modified":"2014-12-26T00:01:46","modified_gmt":"2014-12-26T00:01:46","slug":"sprites-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2014\/12\/25\/sprites-of-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Sprites of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"3110488897_fa4f6357cf_z\"<\/a>

A Scandinavian nisse. (Thanks to Anders Palovaara at Flickr<\/a>.)<\/p><\/div>\n

If you go to Skandinavien <\/i><\/b>in december<\/b>, you\u2019ll most certainly encounter little men (and women) with pointy r\u00f8de huer<\/b> (red caps) everywhere: <\/i>In butikker<\/b> (shops), in private homes, in fjernsynet<\/b> (television). No, you\u2019re not<\/i> mad! Say hello to the nisser <\/b>[NESSore]\u2026<\/p>\n

The typical nisse<\/b> looks like an old man with a langt, hvidt sk\u00e6g<\/b> (long, white beard) \u2013 except that he\u2019s really small, like a child or even a rabbit. He\u2019s wearing traditional clothes such as tr\u00e6sko<\/b> (clogs, literally \u2019wooden shoes\u2019). He\u2019s often got tykke, r\u00f8de kinder<\/b> (fat round cheeks) and a jovial look. I think you wouldn\u2019t mind having a grandfather like that! \ud83d\ude42 On top of his head the famous nissehue<\/b> looms large. It isn\u2019t just a red version of a wizard\u2019s hat \u2013 there typically is a white or red kvast <\/b>(tuft) at the end.<\/p>\n

Originally, a nisse<\/b> was a kind of mythical being that helped farmers on their g\u00e5rd<\/b> (farm). If the farmer didn\u2019t treat him well, he could avenge himself by making sure that the cow gave birth to a calf with two heads \u2013 that kind of thing. There\u2019s a Danish saying: Nissen flytter med.<\/b> (The nisse<\/b> moves house with you.) That means: Your problems keep following you\u2026<\/p>\n

Today nisser<\/b> (or julenisser<\/b>) are mostly associated with jul<\/b> (Christmas) and sjov<\/b> (fun). Sometimes they\u2019re mixed up with Julemanden<\/b> (Santa Claus\/Father Christmas). He was introduced to Scandinavia from the US, though, and hasn\u2019t got very much in common with the Scandinavian nisser<\/b> \u2013 except that they all wear red caps. Nisser<\/b> aren\u2019t just old men; there are also nissekoner<\/b> (nisse <\/b>wives) and nisseb\u00f8rn <\/b>(nisse<\/b> children).<\/p>\n

Nisser <\/b>make dark nights bristle with liv<\/b>\u00a0[leew] (life), and I can\u2019t imagine Christmas without them. One of the most beloved julesange<\/b> (Christmas songs\/carols) for children starts like this:<\/p>\n

P\u00e5 loftet sidder nissen med sin julegr\u00f8d,<\/b><\/p>\n

in the loft the <\/i>nisse<\/i><\/b>\u2019s sitting with his Christmas porridge<\/i><\/p>\n

sin julegr\u00f8d, s\u00e5 god og s\u00f8d,<\/b><\/p>\n

his Christmas porrigde, so good and sweet,<\/i><\/p>\n

han nikker, og han spiser, og han er s\u00e5 glad<\/b><\/p>\n

he\u2019s nodding, he\u2019s eating, and he\u2019s so happy<\/i><\/p>\n

for julegr\u00f8d er hans bedste mad.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2019cause Christmas porridge is his favourite food.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gl\u00e6delig jul!<\/b><\/p>\n

Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

If you go to Skandinavien in december, you\u2019ll most certainly encounter little men (and women) with pointy r\u00f8de huer (red caps) everywhere: In butikker (shops), in private homes, in fjernsynet (television). No, you\u2019re not mad! Say hello to the nisser [NESSore]\u2026 The typical nisse looks like an old man with a langt, hvidt sk\u00e6g (long…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":1178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[913],"tags":[43,362678,3245,362676,293301,362677,3651],"class_list":["post-1177","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-traditions","tag-christmas","tag-grod-porridge","tag-jul","tag-julemanden","tag-nisse","tag-pa-loftet-sidder-nissen","tag-santa-claus"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t