By Connie Stultz
Tourists regularly flock in busloads from places as far away as Hong Kong to catch a glimpse of him. Dignitaries like the Vice Minister of Culture from the People’s Republic of China and high-ranking members of the Russian Duma and the Rwandan Parliament have graced his doorstep. Even a KGB agent from the former Soviet Union paid him a call once.
The international press from Ukraine to South Africa continue to cover the Julenisse story, with interest increasing year after year. Hundreds of articles have appeared in U.S. newspapers and magazines, and now the well-known American travel journalist Rick Steves is bringing his production team to Drøbak this December to produce a program about Christmas traditions in Europe with Julenissen as a highlight. Quaint little Drøbak, tucked away in the foggy, frosty North, will be featured in Steves’ program along with the cultural powerhouses of Paris, London, Rome and Salzburg.
The building where Julenissen is said to live, Tregaarden’s Christmas House, occupies a prime location on Drøbak’s town square where strict preservation laws have maintained many original buildings from the town’s heyday as a major port during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Christmas House has taken over one of these historic buildings, originally used as a religious meeting house, which owner Eva Johansen and her husband Willy purchased and restored in the 1980s. Through the years they have turned Julenissen’s home into a focal point for the Christmas spirit in Norway. Open ten months a year, Eva’s own Julenissen and Christmas Mouse designs in the form of soft dolls and decorations are displayed and sold. In fact, the Julenissen persona has become so pervasive throughout Drøbak that the Christmas gnome even has his own official road crossing sign that warns: Danger – Watch Out for Julenissen!
Not surprisingly, Julenissen receives mail from fans on every continent. To handle the huge volume, Julenissen’s Post Office was established in another historic building next to the Christmas House. Here 20,000 letters stream in every year with Christmas wishes, not only from children but from adults as well. Recently, Julenissen received a letter from a 24-year old student in Basra, Iraq, expressing his desire to move to Norway, and a letter in Spanish sent from Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, found its way into Julenissen’s mailbox not too long ago.
The walls of Drøbak’s Tourist Information Office are lined with letters received over the years, and tourists can browse the myriad of international envelopes and read some of the letters as well. Every one of the thousands of letters addressed to Julenissen is answered by the staffs at Tourist Information and the Christmas House with a postcard depicting a typical winter scene in Drøbak.
Julenissen even has his own official postal address and postmark depicting the Julenissen figure, which is stamped onto each postcard. If you haven’t already done so, you can send your Christmas wish list to: Julenissen, N-1440 Drøbak, Norway. If you happen to be in Drøbak, you can also send your own Christmas greetings from Julenissen’s Post Office, and they will be stamped with the official insignia.
Although Julenissen has received visitors from practically every country, he seems to have a special relationship with the people of Japan. Young Japanese school children are sometimes given the assignment of writing a letter to Julenissen in Norway. Hundreds of multi-colored origami cranes, a Japanese symbol of hope for world peace, have been sent to Julenissen and now hang in the Tourist Information Office.
In November of this year giant images of Julenissen and a Norwegian Christmas tree were lighted on the facades of two Tokyo hotel skyscrapers in a special illumination ceremony to kick off the hotel chain’s Christmas season. Both Eva Johansen and the Norwegian ambassador to Japan participated as VIP guests and were joined by 3-year old Princess Aiko, daughter of the crown prince couple.
Two other Japanese corporate giants have recruited Julenissen to help with commercial and charitable activities such as passing out Norwegian candy to Japanese children, visiting children’s hospitals, and conducting competitions to win special Christmas books designed and produced in Drøbak. These activities began three years ago and have grown in size and popularity each year.
What makes this dumpy white-bearded gnome dressed in red stocking cap and knee breeches so appealing the world over? Eva Johansen thinks she knows the answer:
“Everybody in this world wants peace. If you read the letters to Julenissen from so many different countries, you will see that the desire for peace is a common theme. This is true no matter what kind of society you come from or what religion you are. We receive letters from Muslims as well as Christians and from people in Asian countries without a Christmas tradition. All of them view Julenissen as a symbol of Norwegian Christmas, which translates into a symbol of peace.”
Norwegians are well-known for their international peace-making efforts throughout the world, and nowhere is this spirit better manifested on a concrete, human level than in Drøbak in the weeks before Christmas Eve.
Tiny white lights, never gaudy colors, adorn the facades of the Christmas House and the other 19th century buildings on the town square. With any luck, snow blankets the ground, but in this seaside town fog and mist are just as likely, creating their own mystical effect as the dusky daylight sparkles off the moisture pellets.
The two-story high spruce majestically assumes its place in the town square, surrounded by artisans and local clubs selling handmade gifts. The clip-clop of horse hooves from the buggy rides for children sound out in counterpoint to the local choir singing carols in the square, and the luscious aroma of warm gløgg, the classic Norwegian Christmas drink flavoured with ginger, cloves and cardamom, lingers in the crisp air.
Julenissen makes an appearance, of course, and let’s be clear about one thing – Julenissen is not the same character as the American Santa Claus. He is uniquely Norwegian, born centuries ago from the pre-Christian folk belief in the ghostly being believed to be the original clearer of the farmland.
These leprechaun-like creatures protected the farm and came out during Yuletide festivities to eat and drink. Gradually this nisse character blended with the Christian St. Nicholas figure from the European continent and developed into Julenissen (literally “Christmas elf”) we know today who delivers toys to the children on Christmas Eve.
Julenissen also has many small relatives, called simply nisser, who live in places like barns and boathouses, but they tend to be rather shy around humans and they only emerge from their hiding places to play harmless tricks on people or eat the porridge left out for them as a special treat.
The nisse figure is not just a dusty old folk legend. It lives on today in the imaginations of both Norwegian children and adults as it continually adopts new forms. A few years ago the Norwegian national television produced an extraordinarily popular children’s Christmas series (Blåfjell) about nisser who wear blue stocking hats instead of the traditional red.
The series made a point about breaking down prejudice against those who look different, reflecting issues in Norwegian society related to the need for tolerance toward growing immigrant populations. Now a new generation of Norwegian children knows that nisser come in different colors, and that’s OK. There is room for everybody.
Julenissen serves as a symbol of modern Norwegian cultural values, and perhaps this is why he makes such a splendid ambassador for Norway throughout the world.
The Norwegian love of Julenissen and their enthusiasm for what he represents – values like simplicity, genuineness and peace – have worldwide appeal. So maybe we should not be too surprised when kings and commoners alike from the four corners of the earth come knocking on his door at the Christmas House in Drøbak.