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Here we tell you more about folklore, creatures and myths.
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Folklore is a term used to describe the variegated web of supernatural beliefs and entities that were (and to some extent still are) an important part of human thought and imagination. It is not, as in Christianity, an established religion, but is based on older pagan beliefs, which have been mixed with Christian or other religious values.
In folklore collections around Sweden there are records that allow us to know something about the folklore that characterized the everyday life of people in peasant society. Folk memory collections were mainly established at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when museums and institutions began to collect and write down the older oral tradition in order to save it for posterity at a time when society was changing rapidly and radically.
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The forest was an important place for people in the past. It provided food, wood, firewood and other necessities.
But the forest was also a dangerous place - if you had an accident or got lost far from home, it was difficult to get help.
The dangers of the forest are also reflected in folklore. The creatures believed to be in the forest (or in the water) were said to be more dangerous than those near the farm.
But it wasn't just supernatural beings that were dangerous in the forest. There were also predators that posed a real threat, perhaps not primarily to humans but to their livestock.
It was often the children's job to herd the animals in the forest, a lonely and sometimes dangerous task.
They were responsible for making sure that no animal got lost in the forest or was taken by predators. To avoid attracting predators by using their real names, people often used so-called ”noanames” when referring to them. For example, the bear was called Nalle, the fox was called Mickel and instead of wolf they said Gråben.
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Belief in trolls was mainly found in southern and central Sweden. In northern Sweden, the tradition was dominated by the belief in witches, to which were attached legends and beliefs that in the south were associated with trolls and goblins.
Trolls were thought to live in mountains, in large boulders, in burial mounds or in the forest. Their lives were very similar to those of humans - they celebrated weddings, brewed beer, tended cattle, baked bread and spun yarn. There were many stories of goblins and humans living in friendship and doing favors for each other. But trolls could also be dangerous to humans. They were known for their cunning and you should always be careful if you suspected you were dealing with a troll.
When it comes to the appearance of trolls, there are two different traditions. Some accounts say that the goblins were dark and ugly and others that they looked like humans. However, they were able to reverse the appearance of those they met and often appeared as unusually beautiful and richly dressed people with lots of jewelry. The best way to reveal a troll was to use a Christian word or sign, as trolls (like other supernatural beings) could not tolerate these.
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The name tomte is actually an abbreviation of older terms such as tomtkarl, tomtgubbe and tomtbisse.
It originates from the word ”plot” and refers to the farm and its grounds. The belief in the plot is very old and probably existed already in pre-Christian times. The plot was believed to be a solitary being that acted as a guardian of the farm and its people.
He helped with the chores that needed to be done. He looked after the animals, warned the farm people if any danger threatened, kept order and made sure that the people on the farm did not get careless or use bad words.
Most of the time he was described as a small man, dressed in gray calico clothes and a red cap. Sometimes he would also have some feature that marked him as belonging to the world of the supernatural, such as a single eye in the middle of his forehead or an excessively long white beard. Most of the time, however, you didn't see Santa, but you knew he was there when everything was working properly on the farm. Santa was said to be as strong as seven men, and some legends also say that he was grumpy and angry. This has to do with his role as an enforcer of morality and order on the farm - for example, he punished farmhands who swore or were careless with harsh slaps.
The only reward Santa demanded for his work was a plate of porridge on Christmas night. In the middle of the porridge there would be a lump of butter, and anyone who forgot the butter in the porridge or ate Santa's porridge was in trouble. The fact that Santa Claus gets paid on Christmas night is really the only thing that the folklore Santa Claus has to do with Christmas. But where does Santa Claus come from?
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Santa Claus is a completely different character, who in Sweden shares his name with the old Santa Claus.
The origins of Santa Claus lie in the cult of St. Nicholas. He was born at the end of the 2nd century in Turkey and became a bishop as an adult.
At this time, Christians were persecuted by the Roman Emperor and Nicholas was imprisoned many times for his faith.
After his death, he was canonized and eventually became the patron saint of schoolboys. On the day of St. Nicholas' death, 6 December, a tradition developed where someone would dress up as the saint - with a long beard and cape - and visit schools. Those who behaved well received treats and gifts from the saint.
No one knows exactly how the name Santa Claus came about, but the confusion with the traditional Santa Claus came about because writers and artists at the end of the 19th century - the best known today is Jenny Nyström - in the spirit of national romanticism and inspired by the new Santa Claus figure, interwove the traditional Santa Claus with Christmas.