"We fjoesnisse folk have a saying. 'Pet the hen, we fetch the nøøse.'"
"We fjoesnisse folk have a saying. 'Pet the hen, we fetch the nøøse.'"
For norwegians like me, Santa is a "nisse"- something more equivalent to a gnome (although he is obviously human sized, unlike other creatures of his kind). This is of course also a case of the Santa Claus legend being mixed with much older local folklore and mythology, just in a different culture than the "international Santa. Other "nisser" are mythological underworld figures, basically your average gnomes exept usually depicted wearing red wooly hats just like Santa. Some people still leave food out for the "fjoesnisse"- a gnome living in the barn or shed with the farm animals- on christmas eve. If this farm gnome does not get his porridge, the animals will get ill and die; your basic underworld protection racket. So if Santa is a Nisse, his close relatives are certainly somewhat chaotic ;-)--
Aamund Breivik
So obviously, messing with the fjoesnisse's hen, without offering some porridge, is a huge mistake... ;)