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No one believes in nisser more fervently than my 5-yearold. Nisser are Scandinavian house gods, and although most scholars consider the term "nisse" to be a hypocorism of Nikolaus, assosiated with the saint, there is at least a theoretical possibility that "nisse" derives... 1/4
...from Germanic *niþsi, an s-suffix of a word meaning 'relative'. If the latter is true, nisser would originaly have been part of ancestor worship, possibly connected to the house/property. The most common term for nisse in Swedish is tomte(gubbe). 2/4
Tomte(gubbe) means '(old man from/at the) piece of land suitable for building a house', and I think it's likely that these house gods were worshiped in private cult at the same time as Tiwaz, Fraujaz and Wulþuz were worshiped in public cult 2000 years ago. 3/4
So my 5-yearold leaves offerings around the house. I found clementines and lompe behind our sofa. I've also found bowls of porridge in the hallway, dried fruits in the livingroom and müsli under our dining table. 4/4
