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Description
Christmas Tomte. Tomte is a mythical creature in Swedish folklore who was believed to take care of a farmer's home and children at night when the family is asleep. 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. 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. Unlike Santa Claus, Jultomte doesn't live at the North Pole, but in a forest and his reindeer don't fly.

Description
Christmas Tomte. Tomte is a mythical creature in Swedish folklore who was believed to take care of a farmer's home and children at night when the family is asleep. 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. 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. Unlike Santa Claus, Jultomte doesn't live at the North Pole, but in a forest and his reindeer don't fly.