A Tomte is a mythological creature in Scandinavian folklore believed to take care of a farmer's home and children while he was away. They are depicted similarly to garden gnomes: small bearded men with pointed hats.
In 1881 a Swedish magazine published Viktor Rydberg's poem Tomten, which told of a Tomte alone on a Christmas night, contemplating the mysteries of life and death. This poem was illustrated by Jenny Nyström's painting (left)- one of the most famous representations of a Tomte; and clearly a massive influence on the image of the modern day American Santa Claus.
How I was Tomte for a day: I'm not really sure why I was chosen. Maybe I am the tallest? Hopefully it's not that I am the roundest... yet. For whatever reason, I was asked by the ski school to be Santa for the day. I donned the hat, the beard, the red pants and the red coat - I even stuffed an extra coat in for belly filling. It looked pretty convincing really- the hat had these ringlets of hair coming from underneath it that made me look more like a Jewish Rabbi-Santa: but I think that was pretty cool. I then crept up to the children's center and lurked mischievously around until one of the kids spotted me. It's more like a daycare center really: the kids would be 6-7 years old I'd say...They screamed and pointed and all came running as I ran away behind one of the buildings trying to let out my best booming laughter: "Ho Ho Hoooo!" I went from one side of the building to the other for about 15 minutes or so. Making myself seen and then disappearing again. After some time I came out in the open for all to see and gave a big wave while mustering from my artificial belly: "Hallåååååå! Gooooood Jul! Ho Ho Hoooo!" (Helloooooo! Merry Christmas!)
No comments:
Post a Comment