Tomte, the Christmas gnome. Children's Legend of Scandinavia

In the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Finland and Norway , Santa Claus looks very different. He is not a big old man with a huge belly, but quite the opposite: he is small, very small and yes, very kind. Pay attention to this beautiful legend: 'Tomte, the gnome of Christmas'. You will meet the ch

In the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Finland and Norway, Santa Claus looks very different. He is not a big old man with a huge belly, but quite the opposite: he is small, very small and yes, very kind.

Pay attention to this beautiful legend: 'Tomte, the gnome of Christmas'. You will meet the character who brings the gifts to Scandinavian children. And you will discover a very different vision of the classic Santa Claus.

The story of Tomte, the gnome of Christmas

There is a very old legend, that in the area of Scandinavia (Sweden, Finland and Norway), Santa Claus decided to ask for help to distribute the gifts to children to a very skilled gnome , small and jumping, called Tomte. And this is his story:

Tomte lived quietly in his cold Scandinavian home, hidden in the middle of a lush forest. He was not three feet tall and had a long white beard. He loved to go out once in a while at Christmas time, to contemplate the happiness of families.

And he also liked to help others without being seen: he was in charge of returning the lost sheep to his farm, or of illuminating with the help of his friends the fireflies a clearing of the forest so that no villager would be lost. Tomte loved to see the happy face of all those he helped.

A cold winter night, Tomte had gone for a walk and suddenly saw a reindeer in distress. His leg had been caught between some branches. He thought it was a very strange reindeer: tenía his nose was red as a tomato! Tomte did not think twice and came to his aid. And that's how he suddenly found himself face to face with Santa Claus. He had just landed with his sleigh and his beloved reindeer Rudolph had unwittingly put his leg between some branches. Tomte helped him free his paw and Santa thoughtfully. He had been giving gifts all night and he was tired. The little gnome offered Santa a hot chocolate. He invited him to his humble abode and they spent a good time sharing anecdotes. Pa It seemed to Santa that Tomte was the ideal person to help him, and he decided that tonight would accompany him to learn what his job was like. Al Tomte loved it. He enjoyed negotiating obstacles in the houses as he went to the Christmas tree, walking on tiptoe so as not to wake up the children ... he liked it so much, he asked Santa to leave the last Christmas presents. Santa felt good. He was observing with discretion ... así And that's how he realized that Tomte was, effectively, the assistant he was looking for . So that same night, and without losing time, Santa helped Tomte to get a sledge. Only, not having a reindeer like Rudolph, his sleigh could not fly.

Since then, Santa Claus delegates his work to Tomte every year, and this little gnome is in charge, thanks to his sleigh and to the indications that Santa Claus gave him in his day, to bring all the gifts to the Scandinavian children.

Discover if your child understood Tomte's story

We seek to improve reading comprehension. Whenever you read a story to your child, ask some simple questions to see if he understood the story.We suggest you ask these questions: