ARE ELVES REAL?

HAVE YOU SEEN ELVES?

- By Yashmitha Sritheran

When I was a child, elves lived only in storybooks.

They appeared between colourful pages as tiny figures with pointed hats and mischievous smiles, always busy and always cheerful. As I grew older, they followed me onto television screens through cartoons and animated movies, where they danced, laughed, and worked tirelessly in snowy workshops. Years later, while decorating my classroom for Christmas, I found myself cutting out paper elves and pasting them onto the walls. There were elves carrying gifts, elves peeking from corners, and elves smiling as if they were in on a secret. It was in that quiet, ordinary moment that a simple question returned to me. Are elves real? Do they truly exist, or are they only creations of the stories we tell?

The honest answer is that elves are not real in the physical sense. They are mythical beings, born from folklore and imagination, shaped over centuries by storytelling traditions. Yet, even though they do not exist as living creatures, elves feel real in another way. They live vividly in our minds, our celebrations, and our memories. Especially at Christmas, elves become symbols of magic, excitement, and joy, particularly for children, who experience the season through wonder rather than logic. Perhaps the most famous elves of all are Santa Claus's helpers. In Christmas stories around the world, elves work tirelessly in Santa's workshop at the North Pole. They make toys, paint dolls, assemble trains, polish bicycles, and wrap presents with care. They are portrayed as cheerful workers who never complain, even when faced with the enormous task of preparing gifts for millions of children. Without elves, Santa would seem almost impossible, a single figure trying to accomplish the work of many. Elves make the magic believable. They transform an overwhelming task into a joyful team effort, making the impossible seem possible.