Fiddler's Green: Tomten
Fiddler's Green: Tomten
Art & Magic for Tea-Drinking Anarchists, Convivial Conjurors & Closeted Optimists
The Lore of the Christmas Gnome
A Peculiar Parish Edition by Danica Boyce. 32 pages, with cover illustration by John Bauer.
Tomte, nisse, brownie, domovoi, drac... Beloved by children and the young at heart, the red-capped, snowy bearded gnome is known by many names around the world. While these days we see him most often at Christmas, this household spirit is in fact far, far older than our modern conception of the midwinter holiday. Author Danica Boyce follows the legends and traditions of the tomten throughout the ages, from the gnomes’ origins as domestic gods to their post-industrial servitude to Santa Claus. Though diminished and relegated to shadow, these helpful and protective spirits will happily return to our hearts and homes if given renewed consideration and care. A cozy and captivating read, Tomten: The Lore of the Christmas Gnome is best enjoyed by firelight, with an extra bowl of porridge close at hand.
Size: 7.5” x 5”
Fiddler’s Green Peculiar Parish Magazine was born of a languid afternoon of conversation on a sunny tavern lawn. Taking its name from the pleasant afterlife dreamed into being by sailors, cavalrymen, and other adventurous spirits, Fiddler’s Green gathers friends, good cheer, and a bit of magic to create a better world not someday, but now.
In ecclesiastical terms, the word “peculiar” refers to a district outside the jurisdiction of the church. It’s also a good word for describing my own view of reality, and likely yours as well. And so here is a “peculiar parish magazine” for anyone who doesn’t feel the need to have their inner life directed by others. If it is peculiar that we wish to govern our bodies and souls ourselves, then let us be peculiar.
The conversation continues, and there is room for you in it. Each of us is on our own journey, both in this world and whatever lies beyond it. Sometimes the path is well lit; at other times it is obscured. Your wanderings have brought you here, and I hope you’ll stray for a while with me and the other souls gathered at Fiddler’s Green.
Clint Marsh
