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In
English-speaking The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
cultures, Christmas elves are diminutive
elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...
that live with
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
at the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
and act as his helpers. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large,
pointy ears Pointy ears or pointed ears are a characteristic of many animals, a genetic condition in humans, as well as a cliché in popular culture, particularly in the fantasy genre. They are commonly known as elf ears for their depiction in Peter Jackso ...
and wearing
pointy hat Pointed hats have been a distinctive item of headgear of a wide range of cultures throughout history. Although often suggesting an ancient Indo-European tradition, they were also traditionally worn by women of Lapland, the Japanese, the Mi'kmaq ...
s. They are most often depicted as
humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of ...
s, but sometimes as furry mammals with tails. Santa's elves are often said to make the toys in
Santa's workshop In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus and his Christmas elf, elves live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local cult ...
and take care of his
reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
, among other tasks. They were first introduced in literature by
Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...
in 1856. Santa is much older, emerging in U.S.
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
in the early 17th century from
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
with attributes of various European
Christmas traditions Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. These traditions are diverse in their origins and nature, with some having an exclusively Christianity, Ch ...
, especially from English
Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...
and Dutch
Sinterklaas Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' (derive ...
. The association of Christmas presents with elves has precedents in the first half of the 19th century with the Scandinavian nisse or tomte, and Saint Nicholas himself is called an elf in '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'' (1823).


Origin

The origins of the elf are said to have been derived from
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, which refers to the ''álfar'', also known as ''huldufólk'' 'hidden folk'. The elf character is most likely to have combined this Norse legend with other Scandinavian and Celtic cultures and myths regarding elves,
fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...
and nature spirits. In various regions of Europe there were similar supernatural beings that can be connected to elves, such as
kobold A kobold (; ''kobolt'', ''kobolde'', cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (''hausgeist'') in German folklore. It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. ...
s from Germany and
house spirits A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit int ...
named brownies in Scotland. In medieval Europe, elves were seen as nefarious and were often linked to demons. The Christmas elf appeared in literature as early as 1850 when Louisa May Alcott completed, but never published a book titled ''Christmas Elves''. The image of the elves in the workshop was popularized by ''
Godey's Lady's Book ''Godey's Lady's Book'', alternatively known as ''Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book'', was an American women's magazine that was published in Philadelphia from 1830 to 1896. It was the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civi ...
'', with a front cover illustration for its 1873 Christmas issue showing Santa surrounded by toys and elves with the caption "Here we have an idea of the preparations that are made to supply the young folks with toys at Christmas time". During this time, Godey's was immensely influential to the birth of Christmas traditions, having shown the first widely circulated picture of a modern Christmas tree on the front cover of its 1850 Christmas issue. Additional recognition was given in Austin Thompson's 1876 work "The House of Santa Claus, a Christmas Fairy Show for Sunday Schools".


Saint Nicholas as an elf

In the 1823 poem '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'' (commonly known as '' 'Twas the Night Before Christmas''), often attributed to
Clement Clarke Moore Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem " A Visit from St. Nicholas", which first named each of Santa Claus's reindeer. M ...
, Santa Claus himself is described in line 45: "He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf". Prior to the influence of Saint Nicholas in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, the job of giving out gifts was done by the
Yule goat The Yule goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition. Its origin is from Germanic paganism and has existed in many variants during Scandinavian history. Modern representations of the Yule goat are typica ...
. By 1891, the saint had merged with Tomten, which was previously an elfish / dwarfish farm guardian. Following the work of
Jenny Nyström Jenny Eugenia Nyström (13 or 15 June 1854 in Kalmar, Sweden – 17 January 1946 in Stockholm) was a painter and illustrator mainly known as the creator of the Swedish image of the '' jultomte'' on Christmas cards and magazine covers, thus ...
, this hybrid figure became known as
Jultomten A (, ), (), , or () is a household spirit from Nordic folklore which has always been described as a small human-like creature wearing a red cap and gray clothing, doing house and stable chores, and expecting to be rewarded at least once a ye ...
.


Contemporary pop culture

In the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland, the modern legend of Santa Claus typically includes diminutive elves at
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
; green-clad elves with pointy ears and pointy hats as Santa's employees / assistants. They make the toys in Santa's workshop located in the North Pole. In recent years, other toys—usually high-tech toys like computers, video games, DVDs, and DVD players, and even mobile phones—have also been depicted as being ready for delivery, but not necessarily made, in the workshop as well. In this portrayal, elves slightly resemble nimble and delicate versions of the dwarfs of Norse myth. In recent films (e.g. ''
The Santa Clause ''The Santa Clause'' is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first instalment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordi ...
'' series and '' The Christmas Chronicles''), the elves' jobs also include operating police and air forces protecting the North Pole, helping Santa outside the Pole when he is captured by the real-world police, and as Santa's secret-service-like bodyguards (''
Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman from a story by Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...
''). The elves are generally said to live for hundreds, or even thousands, of years, despite the fact that in some cases they appear eternally youthful as children.


In films and television

Christmas elves have had their role expanded in modern films and television. They are generally portrayed in live-action films either by little actors, children,
forced perspective Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation bet ...
to make normal-sized actors appear diminutive, or
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...
(CGI); otherwise by
traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawing, drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there wa ...
,
stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
, or
computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...
according to the format of the film. For instance: * The 1932
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
traditional animated short film ''
Santa's Workshop In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus and his Christmas elf, elves live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local cult ...
'', features Santa Claus and the elves preparing for Christmas. * Santa's elves feature prominently in the
Rankin-Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...
1964 stop-motion TV special ''
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...
.'' A distinctive, colorful costume design was created, with red, green, blue, or pink outfits topped with cone-shaped hats. Most elves fit the short, plump stereotype, but for diversity, one elf is taller and thinner than the others and wears
horn-rimmed glasses Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials. They are characterized b ...
. The special was sponsored by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, and the elves were featured in the GE small appliance commercials. * In the 1985 live action feature ''
One Magic Christmas ''One Magic Christmas'' is a 1985 List of Christmas films, Christmas fantasy film directed by Phillip Borsos. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and stars Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton. It was shot in Meaford, Ontario with some scen ...
'', there are no elves; Santa runs his toy factory using " Christmas angels", who are deceased adults. * In the 1985 live-action '' Santa Claus: The Movie'', the elves are a type of craft
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
making traditional toys by hand and looking after Santa's
reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
. * In the 1994 live action feature ''
The Santa Clause ''The Santa Clause'' is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first instalment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordi ...
'' and its sequels, Santa's elves are portrayed by children or teenagers, despite being hundreds of years old. Bernard, the number one elf, was portrayed by sixteen-year-old
David Krumholtz David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor. Krumholtz is best known for portraying Bernard in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise (1994–present), Michael Eckman in '' 10 Things I Hate About You'' (1999), Goldstein in the '' Harold & K ...
. By the time the second sequel was made in 2006, Krumholz was too old to play an elf and was starring as an adult in his own television series, so the number two elf was promoted to number one. * The Christmas Elves are featured in the 1998 TV movie '' Like Father, Like Santa''. * The 2003 live-action
Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...
comedy ''
Elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...
'' pays homage to the 1964 ''Rudolph'' special by copying the colorful costume design for the elves, who are all portrayed by forced perspective of the normal-sized actors. * In the 2007 live-action ''
Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman from a story by Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...
'', most elves, such as head elf Willie (
John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and game show host whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the ...
), are created by forced perspective. The single exception is Santa's bookkeeper Charlene (
Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Irene Banks (; February 10, 1974) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the ''Pitch Perfect'' ...
), who is a human-sized elf. * Disney used the theme of Christmas elves for their 2009 short film, '' Prep & Landing'', which tells the tale of an elite group of elves that make houses ready for Santa's deliveries. It was the first holiday
television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...
made by
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
. * The Christmas Elves were featured in the 2011 animated film ''
Arthur Christmas ''Arthur Christmas'' is a 2011 animated Christmas comedy film directed by Sarah Smith who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Baynham, and starring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley ...
''. * In the 2012
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
animated film ''
Rise of the Guardians ''Rise of the Guardians'' is a 2012 American animated science fantasy action-adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Ramsey from a screenplay by David Lindsay-Aba ...
'', elves are very short beings who wear pointy hat-like clothes and assist Santa at the North Pole, but they don't make the toys, the elves are only led to believe this, as
yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
is an ape-like creature purported t ...
s are actually responsible for making the toys in the film. * '' The Christmas Chronicles'' (2018) portrays the elves as diminutive CGI creatures with their own language, spoken also by Santa. They are about two feet tall with a two-head total body proportion, large eyes, and long, pointed ears. Their bodies are covered with a thin coat of fur and they have S-shaped hairy tails, giving them a somewhat rodent-like appearance. In the 2020 sequel '' The Christmas Chronicles 2'', they are divided into two camps, with one faction of "naughty elves" led by
Belsnickel Belsnickel (also known as Belschnickel, Belznickle, Belznickel, Pelznikel, Pelznickel, Bell Sniggle) is a crotchety, fur-clad Christmas gift-bringer figure in the folklore of the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany along the Rhine, th ...
, who plots to overthrow Santa.


In literature

Valentine D'Arcy Sheldon's children's picture book, ''The Christmas Tree Elf'', tells the origin story of how Santa met his elves. It also introduces Blink the elf, who introduces Santa to the elves and saves Christmas by extinguishing a Christmas tree fire. A strong connection to Christmas and elves can be found in the popular fairy tale " The Elves and the Shoemaker" published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. In this tale a shoemaker, who had not been able to meet the demand to make more shoes, is greeted by several elves just before Christmas to finish all the shoes for him.


Around the world

In European countries, Santa has differing helpers depending on the country. In the Netherlands and Belgium, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by
Zwarte Piet Zwarte Piet (; ; ; ), also known in English by the translated name Black Pete, is a companions of Saint Nicholas, companion of Saint Nicholas. (; ; ; ) in the folklore of the Low Countries. Traditionally, Zwarte Piet serves as an assistant to ...
(Black Peter) whose inclusion has become a controversial issue for the
blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
depiction of the character. In
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the companions are the
Knecht Ruprecht Knecht Ruprecht (; English: ''Farmhand Rupert'', ''Servant Rupert'' or ''Farmhand Robert'', ''Servant Robert'') is a companion of Saint Nicholas as described in the folklore of Germany. He is the most popular gift-bringing character in Germany ...
and in
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, they are known as Hoesecker. In Nordic countries, Christmas Elves are considered nisser and not elves and they will usually wear only red instead of the green and red outfits that they are known for in English speaking countries.


See also

*'' The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition'', 2005 children's book


References


External links


All about "Santa's elves"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Elf Literary characters introduced in 1856 Santa's helpers Elves Fictional toymakers and toy inventors North Pole