[Woodcarver] Nisse chat

Thu Jun 3 17:03:28 EDT 2004

Mike:

My apologies.  I mistook the carving for a small Santa.  Not knowing what a
Nisse really was - I always thought it was a Scandinavian Santa :o) - I
looked it up on the Internet. For those interested, I found this explanation
of a Nisse.

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Nisse
by Jason Clarke

      In Scandinavian folklore, a "household spirit" responsible for the
care and prosperity of a farm. A nisse was usually described as a short man
(under four feet tall) wearing a red cap with a tassel.

      While belief in guardian spirits is a very old tradition in
Scandinavia, belief in nisser was prominent in the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries in Denmark, southern Norway and southern Sweden. Many
farms claimed to have their own nisse. The nisse took an active interest in
the farm by performing chores such as grooming horses, carrying bales of
hay, and other farm-related tasks. These chores were usually done much more
efficiently and effectively than by their human counterparts.

      However, nisser were very temperamental, to say the least. If the
household was not careful to keep its nisse satisfied (usually in the form
of a single bowl of porridge with butter in it left out on Christmas eve)
the spirit could turn against its masters. In one story, a girl is
instructed by her family to give the nisse his porridge, but decides to eat
it herself. The nisse responds by forcing her to dance until she nearly
dies. Sometimes the offering themselves could backfire: in another tale, a
grateful farmer gives his nisse a pair of nice white boots, and afterward
the nisse refuses to go out into the rain to stable the horses for fear of
getting his new boots dirty.

      The folklore roots of the nisser extend to Germany, where they grew
out of the legends of St. Nicholas. Thus the nisser are related to the
modern conception of Santa Claus.

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      I hope others find this as interesting as I did.

      Loren

My carvings can be seen at http://www.woodcarvers-gallery.com
http://www.carvingmagazine.com  Carving Magazine's web site - Check out the
reader's forum.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike & Patty Wilcox" <mllrynaz at millry.net>
To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] W3E Exchange Carving Received from Rev. Wilcox

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I am ready a book on communication & it fits here pretty good.
I haven't carved a pickle Santa  But I want to see yours.
It's  not even a Santa really.
The pattern is in carving illustrated # 24   fall 2003
It's a Nisse   (with a very nice article about them too)
But some say he is a distant relative or a Santa-
they are a gnome like figure.
The pickle is really a stain--  it's called pickling
it give a very light white letting the wood show-  want it darker use more
coats
mine is so old that it comes out a strong white 1st coat now..
The print was an ornament to be carved on 1 side --I did it in the round
simple but any one liking Christmas carvings is a good one to do.
I have even done a couple of the cane exchanges this time with his picture.
Thanks for asking.

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  hi Mike I carved my pickle santa in 2002. When did you carve yours?
  Glenda

  Glenda Allen
  Artist
  Your Welcome to visit some of my art at:
  http://www.picturetrail.com/glendakallen

  Reverend Michael Wilcox:

  I received the Santa ornament that you sent for the W3E Exchange.  I
  remember seeing the pattern that you spoke of and think you did a fine job
  on the carving.  It has to be the first carving that I have ever received
  with a pickled wood beard.  I've never done the pickling process before
and
  was wondering how difficult it is.  It looked good on the carving.

  As you can probably figure by looking at my web pages, I'm a Santa Clause
  type of guy.  I leave my small Christmas Tree with wood carved ornaments
out
  all year.  It just changes its place of prominence in the Christmas
Season.
  I will put a hanger on the little fellow and display him proudly.

  By the way, Mike drop me a private note at Woodcarver at midmo.com if you
have
  time.  I'd like to send you a private thanks and don't have your email
  address.  I'll be at the above address until Friday.  At that time I'm
  changing servers and going to a cable provider.

  Thanks much!

  Loren Woodard

  My carvings can be seen at http://www.woodcarvers-gallery.com
  http://www.carvingmagazine.com  Carving Magazine's web site - Check out
the
  reader's forum.

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