God Jul (Norwegian Christmas greeting)

Happy holidays, everyone!

This ihis bearded guy is a Scandinavian type of gnome or elf called a "nisse" and is easily identidied by his red woolen hat and his long white beard. He's commonly seen in or around farms (usually the barn), where he looks after the animals -- in exchange for a bowl of porridge every Christmas Eve -- preferrably rice or sour cream porridge, with lots of sugar and butter!

Unlike many creatures from Scandinavian myths, the nisse is benevolent, even kindly disposed towards humans. Having him around brings fortune and prosperity... but it pays to keep him happy, because he can be a bit of a trickster and get up to all kinds of mischief. And it he feels misreated or neglected -- or worse, if the farmer forgets to give him his Christmas porridge -- he can take revenge in oh so many ways.

Nowadays, the nisse is usually seen on Christmas cards and is usually associated with winter in general and Christmas in particular.