I realized at some point that this was a carry-over from the tradition of leaving out milk and honey to gain the fairies' favor. The other joke was the whole "mom kissing Santa" story. He was somewhat interested in mortal women as elves are known to be; can't blame a guy for that when he's been traveling around the world in the cold all night long. But what havoc if he's actually kissed her and taken her with him…like in the fairy tales, to elf land or the north pole, or wherever he actually lived. I believed he lived at the north pole, but underground, and that the northern lights were flashes that happened when the door was opened.
Anyway, I thought him pretty darn clever indeed to have the parents doing all that work, and fooling them into thinking he didn't really exist, and that it was actually their idea and they were Santa Claus! Ha! Undeniably crafty!
In my little girl visions and childhood dreams Santa always appeared an elf, like in the old fairy tales: pointed ears, elfin features and all. He was short, about as tall as I was and somewhat round, although not as fat as portrayed by the media or in the department stores. I think the fat thing came from the caricature that evolved from the actual elf.
He was young in elf years and his face looked very young to have all that white hair and beard. I knew he was very old though, as elves live an incredibly long time!
He is a friendly sort of guy, funny and jolly with a twinkle in his eye, but caring too. I talked to him a lot back then, mostly around the winter holidays. All I had to do was to think of him, and pouf! There he'd be! He was always laughing and silly - fun to talk to, childlike.
I wondered about certain things, like why he was always in red. He wore red (the royal color of the elves), he told me, because he was the "King of the Elves," and that's why all the other elves work so hard in his workshop. He also said his job is helping children of all ages know the joy of both giving and receiving.
To me his most amazing feat, more than flying, which is really cool too - is that he can read minds. That is the best! Besides, I always knew I could fly and spent many a summer afternoon trying to convince, with varying levels of success, my siblings and neighbor kids to jump off various high places. I knew we could do it, if we could just remember how, and I knew the answer would come to us and we would "grab the wind" and be off!
But, Santa…now he flies by magick, and I was always one for magick! Plus he has those cool reindeer, which are exotic and mysterious animals, including the animal spirit guide "Rudolph," who always leads the way and offers protection from the fog and snow.
Santa always knows what I want, although my presents haven't always been what I coveted. Sometimes I get stuff I like better than what I asked for. He also doesn't always fulfill my wishes right away, like when I wished and wished for a pony. Year after year I said, "I don't want anything if I can't have a pony." This was from age four until age nine. I was obsessed!.
I was noticeably displeased when I got a doll or something else, and no pony. I could have cared less about dolls and couldn't understand why Santa couldn't see clear to grant my fondest wish. Back then I thought of him as somewhere between a fairy, a leprechaun and a genie.
I pouted and behaved like an ungrateful brat, except when I got something fairly cool, like the year when I was nine. I got a camera, and it launched me on a photographic journey that has lasted most of my life.
My disappointment over not getting a horse for Christmas actually had the effect of eventually manifesting my first horse. I had gone a whole year being as good as gold, doing well in school and taking care of my brother and four sisters, so that Santa could see I was really ready for the responsibility of a horse. When there was no note under the tree that said "look outside for your present," I was crushed and I cried. Even though I liked the camera, I was inconsolable.
Finally my mother, who didn't know what to do with me because I was a child who never cried, no matter what you did to me, said, "Call and ask your Grandparents if they will give you the money, you can get a horse."
I felt Santa there with me while I dialed long distance to Seattle to my Grandparents to ask them for $200.00 which was a lot of money then - which would buy me a decent horse and tack. My Grandparents were rich, owners of the second largest nursery in Seattle, so they could well afford it. We were, with six kids to feed, very poor.
To make a long story short, my grandparents came to visit us in Eastern Washington, the only time ever. They came out and watched me ride a friend's horse. They were greatly impressed and concerned for my safety - but gave me the money anyway. I finally got the horse that I had been asking Santa for, for years. I guess he had ultimately decided I was ready.
Since then, I haven't asked for much from the old Elf. There were a few lean years when my daughter was little and I asked him for toys for her. He always came through for me, especially the year when I won $950.00 on Christmas eve, and did all my shopping in a few frenzied hours. It was a miracle, and if he will grant them to me, I'll bet…if you're willing to believe in him, he'll grant them to you too!
Happy Yule and don't forget the milk and cookies!
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