Imp - ABC
In fairy tales , sagas and stories , gnomes are creatures that are human-like in shape and type, but significantly smaller and living in their own communities. They usually appear in groups, living underground, in burrows, or in hidden corners in people's homes. In general, they are friendly towards people and help them with their daily work, mostly without being asked. Sometimes they turn to humans for help, sometimes they exchange a human child for one of their own. They often don't come back once they've been discovered by humans.
Customs - origin Christmas elves
In Denmark and other Scandinavian countries, the Christmas elf (Danish: Julenisse ) on the pre-Christmas tradition in families, especially when dealing with smaller children. This is now also widespread in Germany and other European countries. [26] The Christmas elf wears a red one stocking cap and red shoes with a point and comes at Christmas time on the also part of the Christmas tradition Julbock ridden.