Greetings from the North Pole, Part XVII

Christmas 2019

My dearest children,

Your Father asks, and rightly so: Where does the Time go? Another year, come and gone—One might think the great looping path by which the Earth circles the Sun were diminishing day by day, shortening the Seasons (and warming the Winters!), but I assure you it is not so. The Great Chronometer skips not a beat, year by year; it is We who perceive it differently as We age.

Do the Years seem shorter to you, yet, Master Brendan? Brace yourself, youngling—and your Lovely Bride, too! In a Few Short Days, it may feel as though Tuggs Doubletree has harnessed another young Team or two to your Sleigh. Two I dos and away you’ll fly into the frosty night as Husband and Wife. In centuries past, Such Things were arranged for both Your Kind and Ours, but rest assured, the Both of you: you have chosen well. Noelle Matchwright has studied you from afar and is Most Impressed with your Formation and Discernment, which are mostly absent in Marriages these days.

But forgive me: Madame Matchwright is unknown to you! She is the original elfin Matchmaker here at the Pole, and for many centuries, arranged all Marriages among Our Kind. She has the keen eyes of her father’s Farseer kinsfolk and the saintliness of her maternal Trueheart blood, both of Which lend themselves well to her Mission. It was God’s Providence that she married Sulpherous Matchwright and gained a name that matched her trade. Old Smoky makes matches, as well, but of a much Different Sort. Still the spark was there, and they have many Daughters, each a Spitting Image of their mother in looks and knack, and each named Noelle like the Mother who bore them, making her the First Noelle—truly!

The rest of you Young Ones may notice a speeding of the spin of this Tilted World, as well! Master Gabriel, it is well and wise that you should strive to live in Christmas Present, and neither languish in the Past nor sprint too quickly to the unknown Future. God has great plans for you, today and always, and you are doing the Best Work a man can do: Sharing the love of Him Whose birth eclipses all the Wonders we work up here! Miss Emma Rose, do enjoy these next few months at home with your Siblings and Parents and Friends of all Ages—you and the University of Mary will be mutually blessed next Fall, no doubt, but such Changes are coming, and you are no longer a little girl (much to your Parents’ dismay). Continue to pray and may your new veil serve to focus your attention on the Universal Bridegroom. (I know you hoped for blue lace in honor of Our Lady; this one is more a silver hue, woven of Moonlight on the Snow by the Sisters of Perpetual Winter—I hope it will suffice!) Master Trevor, we continue to enjoy your musical career, in Various Bands, Choirs and Theatrical Productions, as well as the blossoming of your potential Vocation. Fr. Aloysius and Sr. Providence offer Masses and Rosaries for all such aspiring Young People, and have prayed for you, in particular. Whatever the Future holds, know that it will be Blessed to the extent you are open and allow it to be!

And finally, Miss Lily: Bursting with curiosity this year about All Things Christmas. Your dark eyes see much, Little One, but your Heart knows more! Let it lead you to the Truth of things, especially as you prepare for your First Holy Communion! Your Note was late going out, but as I’ve said in the Past, even late is rarely Too Late for jolly old St. Nicholas. You have received what the Old Man thought best, and I’m sure you are happy even without Everything on your List.

You also asked a question: Which is Kris Kringle’s favorite reindeer? I am sorry, but I cannot answer that simply, because there is no Simple Answer! Just like we Elves, Santa’s reindeer come from long family lines, each with its respective strengths that serve us well. The names so familiar to Big Folk below—Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolf, of course—are but one generation of reindeer representing countless deer before and after! In their day, Dasher and Comet were the fastest bulls and urged the other six to fly at great speed; Dancer and Prancer were the nimblest of cows, and could bring the Sleigh to halt atop the smallest and steepest of Rooftops; Cupid and Vixen were older, wiser cows that balanced out the dauntless courage of Donner and Blitzen, two bulls who would fly headlong into a Blizzard if it meant a child’s smile. And Rudolf, of course: That miracle buck (bull, rather) whose snout enlightened the gloom of a wet, grey Christmas Eve was gifted supernaturally for the task at hand. Asking Father Christmas to choose a favorite reindeer is like asking him to choose a favorite Child: It cannot be done, because each is a Miracle in his or her Own Right!

I hope that is satisfactory. Alas! The sand in the glass is spent, and I am still writing. I must close now, or this letter will not be delivered! A very Happy Christmas to you all!

Yours Still and Always,

Q

Siberius Quill

Greetings from the North Pole, Part XVI

Christmas 2018

My dearest children,

How very Strange it must feel to age as swiftly as Your Kind! We elves mature slowly, live long, and are by and large born into our Trades, which we Practice and Perfect for decades stretching to centuries, all here at the North Pole. But you: You must grow up and decide in No Time at All what to do with yourselves, learn All You Can in a few short years, and do your best to make a Way for yourselves in the Wider World. It brings a Tear as much as a Twinkle to my eye, as it must for your Dear Parents, to see you grow and leave the proverbial Nest.

But my, what Fine Fledglings you are! Master Brendan, woolly and bearded as old Lewis’s Tumnus, nearly finished with your first degree and with dear Miss Wilke by your side, on the cusp of so many Possibilities and Horizons; Master Gabriel, tall and straight as an aspen, traveling the roads and sharing the Good News like the Apostles of old; the beautiful Miss Emma, ever the elf, spreading Holiday Cheer throughout the year just as We do: with thoughtful Gifts, kind Words and only the best Baked Goods; and Master Trevor—in High School already?—with such talent and love for Music that all the Day-Watchers prefer Seamus Farseer to check in on you in the morning, before School, to hear you play and progress on the piano!

And then, of course, is Lovely Miss Lily: sharp and smart and quite Elfin yourself, with your Pixie cut and eyes like Dark Pools beneath a moonlit sky. It is a Blessing for me and your parents both to have a youngling with such enthusiasm for All Things Christmas as well as a Love of Toys, which are still very much in Our Wheelhouse, as your Father would say. You sent no questions with your Note to Santa, but you mentioned to your Dad that you wondered whether that white-bearded Wonderworker would know you wanted a Vikings shirt even though you forgot to mention it! Your parents took care of that for you, but the answer is, Of course He knows! He always knows!

Not only is the Watcher Corps well aware of all such Wants and Conversations, but should Things change drastically in the Last Hours before Christmas (or Heaven forbid, we Elves make a mistake—for we are no more Perfect than you Big Folk!), the Swifters sweep into action. These the most fleet-footed and stealthy of Elves make Emergency Switches and Last-Minute Deliveries, unseen by even the keenest of eyes of night-bird or -beast! The first Swifters were Flit Golightly, a skilled and silent Hunter with bow and blade, even on the open tundra, and his fiancée, Feather Fletcher. Late in your 19th Century, the two delivered several forgotten Gifts one Christmas morning even as the Sun rose in the East, and No One below the Circle was the wiser! Their firstborn, Flint, was as lead-footed and clumsy as our Kind come, but remains a master Bowyer and Arrow-wright in his Mother’s line; his younger twin siblings, Felix and Felicity, now handle last-minute deliveries in the Wee Hours!

Such stories I could tell, had I the time to Ramble—but alas (and at last), it is Christmas Eve! Perhaps your Father and I should collaborate again on a story? A Pipe and a Pint would help matters, but we are Not Allowed to meet Your Kind face-to-face, or what would it mean to Believe? Faith, then, children, and a Very Happy Christmas to you all!

Yours Still and Always,

Q

Siberius Quill

Greetings from the North Pole, Part XV

Christmas 2017

My dearest Children,

Has it been Another Year already? Your parents have no doubt shared how quickly Time Flies as one gets older—imagine, then, the heady speed for one as Old as I am! And human Children grow and change so fast: Master Brendan, as steadfast, woolly, and bearded as a Bison; Master Gabriel, sharp and penetrating as a Hawk; Emma, lovely and joyful as a Lark in spring (even in winter!); Master Trevor, as shaggy and ravenous as a winter Wolf—and Miss Lily, as fickle as Reindeer calf, now bucking with your herdmates, now gazing wide-eyed at the Auroras, now nestled near your mother as the Wild World goes by. Ah, but it does my Heart good to see your Family flourishing!

And you’ve added a puppy to the mix! A brave thing, to be sure—puppies (and Airedales in particular) are not for the Faint of Heart! But Eugenia and Hawthorne Mushardy assure me that with patience, a firm hand, and lots of love your Bruno will join the ranks of Boomer and Puck as the very Definition of a Good Dog—and I know of no better judge of Canis familiaris than they! Gee was a Deervermer before they married and worked with Doc Vendy to keep our working packs healthy, while Haw mushed, hunted and trapped alongside Spurius Longwind, the Woodsman and Teller of Tall Tales you’ve no doubt heard about!

You asked no questions of me this year, Miss Lily, which must mean your Siblings and Parents are doing a fine job explaining All Things Christmas! Nonetheless, I will share a bit more with you: On the Feast of St. Nicholas, you left a note and picture for the Old Man, assuring him you had been Good this year and sharing a lovely picture you drew. While we always love notes, letters, pictures and other Handiwork from Your Kind, let me assure you that you needn’t worry: our Watcher Corps has seen you from afar and Knows Well the content of your Character. Indeed, your family—having achieved a certain age and stability—has recently been assigned to one of our Watchers-In-Training. Currently a first-year, Iris Stargazer, keeps tabs on you, Lily. Young Iris has a keen eye and a good heart, but a wandering mind, which makes a generally Good Girl like yourself the Perfect Charge until she finds her focus!

And now I must go: My maternal great-grandfather, Papyrus Parchment, is not long for this World, and with our work done tonight, the entire Clan will be gathered for his Passing. It was old Pappy who began the Wrapping of Presents, and it was he who founded our Paper Mill for the production of everything from list-rolls and gift wrap to boxes and tags! He even began recycling paper well before your pulpwrights Down Below, and for long decades now, has sent elfin Separators south to glean and gather reusable wrap from trashcans and dumpsters Down There. Oh, you may still tear into your presents, Young Ones—we even recycle the scraps and tatters…but it’s not entirely true when they say, “We aren’t going to save the paper.” Perhaps you aren’t, but We are!

Old Pappy—we will miss him, but he was as faithful and true as they come; the divots in the kneeler match those in his knees, as they say. He is bound for Heaven, I am sure—if I leave this World and miss him still, it’s my own fault.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Yours Still and Always,

Q

Quill