Christmas elf
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In English-speaking cultures, Christmas elves are diminutive elves that live with Santa Claus at the North Pole and act as his helpers. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with
An elf on a Christmas ornament
Sailors aboard USS Harry S. Truman watch a screening of the 2003 Christmas film Elf
Two Zwarte Pieten, St. Nicholas' companion in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Santa Claus
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Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the
1881 illustration by Thomas Nast
A 13th-century depiction of Saint Nicholas from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai
The Ghost of Christmas Present as illustrated by John Leech for Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843)
An 1886 depiction of the long-bearded Norse god Odin by Georg von Rosen