Put on your snow shoes and come with us as we trudge off across the frozen lands of one of the harshest environments on earth – the north pole. Why are we here? We’re in search of one of the most intriguing and illusive creatures of all – one that is so rarely seen that its very existence is a question of debate. What is this strange being? The Christmas elf of course!
As you may know, elves come from the greater family known as the Little People and their cousins include fairies, gnomes, leprechauns, pixies, brownies, goblins and trolls (who are regarded as the black sheep of the family!)
Elves are thought to have originated from Scandinavia, as they first appeared, a long time ago, in Norse mythology. Sadly today, their numbers have declined and the last few remaining colonies are believed to be confined to the north pole.
To be honest, our chances of spotting any are pretty low. Elves are shy creatures, renowned for keeping a very low profile. The most famous elf sighting of all occurred in the early 1900s, when a large gathering of elves was observed travelling to the very centre of the north pole in late autumn – quite why they were going there at the coldest time of the year remains a mystery to this very day…Unfortunately, no photographic evidence exists, leaving some to wonder if it really happened at all…
We come upon a jolly north pole resident, who tells us his name is Mr Claus. We ask him about the elves. He tells us they are sometimes seen in the area during the autumn and winter months. When we ask if he has spotted any himself, he just chuckles and smiles at us. When we press him on the issue, he mysteriously says that some things are best left to the imagination…
The north pole is thought to be the best place to see an elf, but there have been worldwide claims that elves have been spotted in many different countries, leading to a theory that they may embark on global migrations from time to time. Quite what they are doing is a mystery, but people who have seen them, tell us that they appear to be particularly interested in human behaviours – especially good and bad deeds.
It’s time to call it a day and we head back to our base camp without having seen a single elf. Of course, there are sceptics out there who say that without any real evidence, we cannot be sure that elves actually exist at all – they suggest that they are merely characters in a fairy tale; but Mr Claus seemed to believe they were real.
Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to see an elf one of these days… after all Christmas wouldn’t be the same without them…
Candy Hunter 