Elves, Gnomes and Trolls: Fun, Fact, Folklore And Fantasy

Scandinavian folklore reveals some clues about elves in its Father Christmas tradition.
Interestingly, elves have been regarded as gnomes, trolls, fairies or even cannibals, over the course of history. (1)

In the western world of fun, fact and fantasy, elves are present in the Santa Claus tradition.

(Don’t ever try to tell an elf that he or she is not real, particularly one of Santa’s Christmas elves. How would you like to be told that you are not real, especially when you have been working to help Santa make and distribute gifts to children, all over the world? Telling Santa that his elves are not real, might result in an unexpected surprise in your Christmas stocking, like a lump of coal, or a carrot!)

What about elves, gnomes, trolls, fairies and cannibals? Are any of them real, other than in the world of fiction?

Let us compare some definitions for a moment.

* Elf:
A small, often mischievous fairy
A small lively creature, especially a mischievous child
A lively mischievous or malicious person

* Gnome:
An ageless and often deformed dwarf of folk lore, who lives in the earth and guards precious ores or treasures
An elemental being in the theory of Paraclesus that inhabits earth

* Troll:
A dwarf of giant in Teutonic folklore inhabiting caves and hills
A demon

* Fairy:
A mythical being of folk lore and romance, usually having diminutive human form and human powers

* Cannibal:
One that eats flesh of its own kind (2)

It would appear that whether an elf is considered to be real or not real, has more to do with one’s perception. Note that some of these definitions allow room for an elf to actually be a person. Some of them are very positive, while others are quite negative.

Let’s look at some more Scandinavian folklore for a moment.

Historically, Scandinavian gnomes surfaced in the pagan tradition, to guard the homes of their benefactors. They were either good or bad, depending upon how they were treated. Some people considered them to be trolls, or cannibals.

By the mid 1800’s, gnomes were regarded as mischievous fairies, who helped Father Christmas and they are the ones who came to be known as the Christmas elves. They are documented in the writings of Thile, Toplius and Rydberg and the artwork of Hansen and Nystrm. (3)

In the western tradition, the Christmas elves live at the North Pole, with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the reindeer.

In the year 1925, the Scandinavians supposedly discovered that there were no reindeer at the North Pole, but they knew that there were reindeer in Lapland, Finland.

The hidden village in which the elves lived, was situated in the Korvatunturi Mountain
located in the Savukoski county of Lapland, near the Finnish-Russian border. The elves traditionally celebrate January sixth, as the last day of Christmas and come out their mountain village to play in a field. The rest of the time, they help Father Christmas to design and create toys for children. (4)

The western world’s Christmas tradition, still holds to the fantasy that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, with Mrs. Santa Claus, the elves and his reindeer. Their task is the same.

This would appear to be bit of a mixture of eastern and western folklore, at least to some extent.

There is the reality that people will always perceive others, who may be different in some way, in a way that may cause them to be mocked, ridiculed, made fun of, etc. Some people will introduce an element of humor to this. Fun, fact, folklore and fantasy will continue from generation to generation, but the ultimate perception is love.

The existence of elves remains somewhat of a mystery, unless one takes into consideration the reality that definitions of elves can include children and adults. In this case, one would have to suggest that elves can be real, at least in a person’s imagination.

(1) http://www.didyouknow.cd/xmas/xmaselves.htm
(2) Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc. Springfield, MA, 1983
(3) http://www.didyouknow.cd/xmas/xmaselves.htm
(4) Ibid.