Those are still the givers of winter holidays, to whom you must remain (9 photos)

Traditionally, it is customary to receive gifts on New Year's Day. Well, or at least expect them, providing a positive attitude. But not in all cultures, winter characters are ready to benefit a person for nothing or for a poem. Some will not only take payment, but also take someone else’s property.





Yule boys



Gryla

Winter in Iceland is a special time. A time when you need to beware of evil entities that become active during the cold season. The main dark character of local folklore is the giantess Grila, who is not averse to eating fresh human flesh.





The lady comes down from the mountains for the holidays to fill the bag with mischievous people and lazy people. But the fairytale aunt does not live in the mountains alone. Living with her is a rather worthless husband, a black cat and a whole damn dozen offspring. Initially, they were a copy of their mother, but over time they lost their odious meaning and became rather kind.

The Yule guys descend from the mountains one by one and remain on the ground for 2 weeks, until January 6th. They engage in petty dirty tricks - stealing bowls, creaking doors, eating sausage. But the poor people still help Icelandic children by placing nice gifts in the shoes displayed on the windowsill. Mischievous people receive a piece of coal or a raw potato. Because never mind, the Yule boys know everything.

Nisse



Nisse are representatives of Norwegian folklore. These are short little men, like gnomes, dressed in a noticeable red cap and wooden shoes. In general, they are not particularly dangerous, but they are vindictive. If you annoy the little people, you won’t end up in trouble.



Legend has it that the ancestor of the Nisse once put two coins in a bowl, which a beggar girl put outside the threshold in the hope of getting some food from the magical creature. Her joy knew no bounds, and Nissa liked the pleasant feeling of joy from doing good. And the people began to give gifts to the children - coins and sweets every year.

Joulupukki



He is also the Yule Goat. This is an analogue of the Finnish Santa. In ancient times, among the Finns, he was a deity symbolizing the harvest. But gradually the image transformed into an evil winter spirit. Horns, tall stature, eternal rods with you - the corresponding external surroundings of the Yule Goat.



By the Middle Ages, it transformed into an even more terrible monster, which is logical. He could easily drag the child away and put him in soup. Only in the century before last, Joulupukki changed his anger to mercy and began delivering gifts along with his little helpers - elves and gnomes.

Shulikuny



There were corresponding characters in our Slavic folklore. These are small but nasty underwater demons, crawling onto land from a swamp or ice hole to have fun and come back for Epiphany.

In the book of folklorist Elena Levkievskaya they are described as follows:

They are often as tall as a fist, sometimes larger, can have horse legs and a pointed head, fire blazes from their mouths, and wear white homespun caftans with sashes and pointed hats.



Hooligans amuse themselves by confusing lost travelers at crossroads. They carry with them a frying pan with hot coals or a red-hot hook, which can injure or even snag and drag them into their underwater kingdom.

In general, the message even among evil entities representing the winter folklore of different nations is simple and correct: do good, and you will be rewarded.