Jul Tomte
An old Swedish tradition includes a small gnome named Tomte. In some cases, he was called Jul Tomte.
Tomte was a gnome, barely three feet in height. He brought good luck to the household but only if he were treated right. To do this, you take pieces from your dinner meal and place them in a large basin under the table. When the meal was over, you deliver the meal to the barn where the Tomte stayed. His favorite animals were the horses so that is usually where the basin was placed in the barn. This would be enough to keep the Tomte happy. When he was happy, he would help out on the farm, which is why the farm would prosper in the coming year.
But Tomte is magical, and like all magical things, bad things happen if you don't do as your expected. If you don't treat the Tomte well, he'll leave your farm and you won't prosper in the coming year. This is why you must feed the Tomte.
