In the mid-1800s, Germanic, Scandinavian, and British created the myth of the Christmas elf as we know it today. According to Twinkl, “in Germanic paganism, elves were believed to be creatures of light who lived in the heavens. They were later referred to as living underground, as well as in forests, springs and wells.”
Many people put elves, called Gnomes, in front of their house to protect them from evil spirits. Some of the more mischievous variety of elves were said to use magical powers to prank bad people, give people the hiccups or cause bad dreams. To avoid being a victim of these elves’ pranks, it was believed that if someone put a bowl of porridge outside your door at night, you would be spared from such pranks.
Traditionally, elves were not a part of Christmas at all, and were only active on May Day and Halloween. The elves’ link to Christmas is a modern American one: they play a part of the expanding role of Santa Claus who is thought to be another, more powerful, elf. In 1823, Clement Clarke Moore published the poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas, and Santa was described as a “jolly old elf.” People thought that there was no way Santa could bring presents all around the world in one night by himself and he must have had help from other elves.
The elves had six very important tasks:
- Protect the secret location of Santa’s village and workshop
- Make sure that Santa’s sleigh is in working order
- Help Santa keep his Naughty or Nice List in order
- Make toys and organize them onto Santa’s sleigh
- Keep an eye on children’s behavior and report back to Santa.
- Take care of Santa’s reindeer
The elves who watch over the children are called Alabaster Snowball elves, a name that inspired the popular tradition of Elf on the Shelf. This tradition was brought to life in the 2004 book Elf on the Shelf, written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. Bell had the idea to create a story based on their own family tradition, where an elf sent by Santa comes to watch over children during the holiday season.
Over the years, elves have had the same stereotype one would expect them to have: skilled, jolly, pointy ears, dressed in red, and toy makers. This tradition has been around for years and will hopefully keep going, as kids pass it down to their own children, and the story of Santa and his elves will live on.
