This is a portrait I painted of Santa. It’s not the usual, but I know what I’m doing: Santa is in my pantheon. He’s my Faerie Santa, a real honest-to-god Faerie. (Scroll past him for rest of blog.)
And he comes to my house, Santa comes to see me! My gods are so accessible, they often walk on earth. We had the best visit. It was nice to just hang out. We are so busy when we are at work (I’m one of his elves). Here’s an actual photo of him. Isn’t he handsome?
I pray to Santa any time of the year. Started this after a girlfriend told me she does that. She has an altar to him—milk and cookies for ol’ St. Nick. A few days ago, we had a religious ceremony. It consisted of her reading me The Night before Christmas. Then we sat silently for a moment, to enjoy how that left us feeling. A simple rite! Since I am one of his elves, it was a great way to start the day.
I was praying to him the other day, and he told me that we who are his elves should not let people know, so, SSSHHH. (But I am saying I’m one of his elves to promote my elven wares, b/c no one believes me, except OTHER elves. So maybe u can talk about it, too, for your own reasons. People think it’s just a metaphor!)
You may think I’m fibbing or crazy but, after months making things the old-fashioned hand-crafted way to fill Santa’s sleigh (AKA my Etsy shop ), I know I’m his elf. Who better than someone who works in many different mediums and is the official Upcycling Queen? Do you think that was too proud a thing to say? Elven pride, yaya!
Santa’s are not the only skilled elves known for our productivity. There are the shoemaker’s elves, and the elves who tidy homes when no one is looking. Elves are useful members of society.
But this manic time of North Pole busyness! Constantly busy elf til Santa fills his sleigh! Then things back to normal. Well, they’ll be a bit more mellow: We elves are always busy. But there’ll be more time for cocoa and rest. For now, working hard, committed to making my Etsy shop work and to making real magic for people’s holidays. Fey fashions and mystic décor have to be made just so. Whew oh Whew! A joy, but also lot of work.
Santa and my other rascal oh-so-pagan Gods of bounty come thru when needed! The Etsy shop is helping me pay a few bills, no small thing between our current economy and my health’s impact on my earning ability. Things are hand to mouth, but I don’t think that that shows my gods to be weak. They just want to keep me in the moment.
Yeah, economically, it’s a mad dance: kind of like the Mad Hatter managing to always stay one seat ahead of Alice at the tea party. Or, just as much, it’s like Alice trying to deal with him. I never know what the economy and politicians might do to grab the seat out from under me. Or grab the tea cup (or cup of cocoa) I’m about to sip from. Maybe that’s why I enjoy being an elf so much: Staying busy keeps me in the moment, peaceful, useful, dwelling in wonder. Sometimes all we can do is stay one step ahead but, hey, as long as you’re ahead, what does it matter? Worrying about tomorrow’s cup of tea never helped anyone.
Being busy is a balm to many things, especially if you’re busy being of service doing what you love. For example, crafting helps heal past wounds. While lost in my world of making things for the shop, I’m one step ahead of the Mad Hatter at Alice’s tea party. (Or I’m the Mad Hatter one step ahead of everyone and everything!)
Wahoo! I’m a busy happy elf, making magic for you, making magic for me. Tinkering is elven play: My joy fills everything I make! Busy busy BUUUSY elf.
Did you know elves get to dress exactly as they want! Check it out. I designed this skirt and hat. And dyed the white silk leggings red. I’m sulking in the pic b/c we’re out of cocoa. Yes, even elves get moody sometimes.
In fact, don’t ever put unrealistic demands on Twinkles – one of my fellow elves in the workshop. He’s an expert at building wooden toys, but if you’re unreasonable about your expectations . . . well, he’ll still smile with authentic jolly elf-ness, but the twinkle in his eye teasingly says, “Oh, c’mon!” I managed to snap a pic when Twinkles was doing just that.
Here’s another elf pic. One of my friends asked me to paint his portrait. (He is sooo cute!)
Been jabbering lots about Santa and moi lately, so it was fun to repeat a bit of it here, and add a little. I could fill a book talking about elf life (and may have actually written that much about it, over time) because being one impacts everything I do. It’s part of my work, my play, my spirituality. It’s a lighthearted thing for me, and a deep thing for me. Because it’s me! So I appreciate you reading this tiny piece of my elf life! Oh, speaking of which, you can be both a bunny and an elf!
Below is the famous New York Sun 1897 letter, “Yes, Virginian there Is a Santa Claus.” If he is real, it proves his elves are! The letter also shares remarkable mysticism. I believe the letter’s in public domain. If you know otherwise, please tell me, so I can remove it from this site. I respect copyright law.
Happy Yule!
*****
Dear Editor,
I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says “If you see it in the Sun it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon.
Answer: VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank GOD! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
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Yes, I agree! Santa is COOL! So glad I found you, through The Leftover Queen. Have you ever wondered if he is a vegetarian? Can’t imagine him eating a steak.
…It amuses me when Christians talk about Jesus, they pray to Jesus like little kids write letters to Santa, asking for what they WANT. And they are juuuuust good enough to go to heaven, like a kid juuuuust good enough to get their ‘Christmas’ presents. And they expect to be forgiven for what they do that’s bad. 🙂
…I like the PAGAN Beings, they are close by, right in the garden, in the kitchen, and so on. If I met Thor, I would look him in the eye, not bow down and grovel. Grovel, is that spelled right? Ha ha, see! I don’t even know how to spell it.
….THANK YOU for this blog, your thoughts and feelings, and research. Good for you. See you again…I call myself ‘Blue Wolf.’
Hey, great to meet you you. Thank u for coming here, and for yr note, luv it!
PS Santa told me himself, he loves a big rare steak! 🙂
LOVE IT!!!!