When you think about Santa’s little helpers, do you imagine a young, lively, shorter humanoid — or an old man with a long beard? Both appear in Christmas stories, and even though they originate from similar sources, they have ended up represented in quite different ways.
Christmas elves, specifically, originate from Germanic mythology. They were seen as supernatural beings that were usually mischievous in nature. These elves were connected to Christmas celebrations relatively late in literature, and this interpretation gradually became popular and widespread.
However, in Nordic folklore, elves have existed for even longer. Originally, they had nothing to do with Christmas, but were instead tied to specific buildings — mills, houses, saunas — all of which had their own elves that protected the buildings and carried out chores. Over time, these elves also became associated with Christmas, in a similar way to the Germanic ones, eventually resulting in several different images of Christmas elves.
Both types of elves, however, seem to have similar jobs: helping Santa in his workshop to create gifts for children and keeping track of children who are being naughty. How they manage this, the stories tell us, no one knows to this day.
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