In 1881, the Swedish magazine Ny Illustrerad Tidning published Viktor Rydberg's poem "Tomten", where the tomte is alone awake in the cold Christmas night, pondering the mysteries of life and death.
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This poem featured the first painting by Jenny Nyström of this traditional Swedish mythical character which she turned into the white-bearded, red-capped friendly figure associated with Christmas ever since.
Tomte |
Before, it was also common to let the remains of the Christmas meal remain on the table or place it out in the yard on Christmas night in order to appease mythical creatures such as the Trolls or the Nisses which were widely believed to roam the forests.