Holiday Musings

Our holidays are replete with traditions who's meanings and origins have been made opaque in time.  Robin Williams mused about the connection of chocolate bunnies to Easter and rebellious young agnostics often seem quick to point out that Christians annexed popular pagan traditions to create their own holidays.  One of these little facets of traditions from forgotten times has stood out to me this season as being particularly incongruous with the spirit of the holidays.  Elvis.  No wait, sorry.  Elves.  Somehow elves are a part of Christmas.  Let that sink in for a moment.  

As a person without an advanced degree in elvology, I'm left to ponder this conundrum from a place of ignorance.  It seems that one of two things happened: 1. Christians invented elves to be part of the Christmas tradition, or 2. Christians adopted elves from an earlier tradition to be part of the Christmas tradition.  

I'm sure there is all kinds of crazy batshit to be mined from the idea that Santa has isolated and enslaved a whole species, but maybe the stranger thing is this implied but never explained idea that there is a whole other species!  Naive kids all over the country ask how Santa is able to deliver so many presents to so many kids all in one night, but why aren't any of them asking about the strange humanoids with pointy ears?  Maybe the little green men in flying saucers are elves that have escaped to New Mexico.