Lausks is the reason you have numb cheeks in winter.
A single man from Latvian lore, Lausks is a winter spirit. He is said to be an old man dressed in a warm winter coat of animal fur, with a silver or crystal axe in his hand. Lausks spends his time in two ways. The first is to visit houses in winter and check structural integrity by using his axe to hit the walls, roofs, and corners of rooms. Secondly, Lausks is said to pinch cheeks, ears, and noses when they go outside in the cold – and can therefore be blamed for cracks in walls and red or numb cheeks and noses in winter.