Where did Elf on the Shelf come from?
Here comes the interesting part!
You might think that Elf on the Shelf is an ancient Christmas tradition that started hundreds of years ago…
❌ WRONG! 😂
It is actually a modern American Christmas tradition.The story begins in Georgia, USA, in the 1970s. 🇺🇸
A woman called Carol Aebersold had a little elf called Fisbee when she was a child. Her family believed that Fisbee was a special Christmas elf who watched the children and reported to Santa every night.
And there was one very important rule:
👉 Nobody was allowed to touch the elf because he would lose his magic! ✨
Every morning, the children woke up and looked for Fisbee.
Why?
Because during the night, he had moved to a different place in the house!
So basically, Carol and her family were playing an early version of “Where is the elf?” every Christmas morning!
📖 The book
Many years later, Carol's daughter Chanda Bell had an idea.
She thought: “Why don't we write a book about our family elf and share this tradition with other families?”
So, in 2004, Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell wrote the story.Then, in 2005, they published the book: The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition
The book was illustrated by Coë Steinwart and originally came together with a little Scout Elf.
The book tells the story of a magical elf who is sent by Santa to visit a family during the Christmas season. During the day, the elf watches the children. At night, when everybody is asleep: THE ELF FLIES BACK TO THE NORTH POLE!
He tells Santa what happened during the day and then comes back before the children wake up. And… HE CHANGES HIS HIDING PLACE!
That's why children have to look for him every morning.
Where did the tradition officially begin?
The book was self-published in Marietta, Georgia, USA, in 2005.
The family initially produced 5,000 copies. They held their first book signing at the Marietta Museum of History.
And guess what? They sold all 5,000 copies!
The idea gradually became popular across the United States and eventually spread to other countries.
So, although the family tradition began much earlier, 2005 is the key year when Elf on the Shelf became a published Christmas tradition that other families could adopt.
🤔 So… is it an old tradition? Not really!
ACTIVITY 1. Read this text and complete this chart:
- Place:
- Year it started this Family tradition:
- Book written:
- Book published:
- Creators:
- Original name of family elf:
¿Qué no te enteras bien de la historia? La historia en pocas palabras...
Elf on the Shelf no es una tradición navideña antigua. Es una tradición estadounidense bastante reciente.
La historia comenzó en la familia de Carol Aebersold, en Georgia, Estados Unidos. 🇺🇸
Cuando Carol era pequeña, su familia tenía un pequeño elfo llamado Fisbee. El elfo supuestamente vigilaba a los niños y le contaba a Papá Noel si se habían portado bien o mal.
Por la noche, cuando todos dormían, el elfo "volvía al Polo Norte" y por la mañana aparecía en un lugar diferente de la casa. 🌙🧝♂️
Años después, la hija de Carol, Chanda Bell, decidió escribir un libro sobre aquella tradición familiar.
En 2004 escribieron el libro.
En 2005 publicaron The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.
Se publicó originalmente en Marietta, Georgia.
El libro venía acompañado de un pequeño elfo y explicaba la historia de los Scout Elves, los elfos que ayudan a Papá Noel a saber quién está en su Nice List.
Y así una tradición familiar que había comenzado en los años 70 se convirtió en un fenómeno navideño mucho más grande. 🎄🌎
