Step in time

Christmas is a magical time as we all know. Every year its events are set in history, and the magic is always there for us to rejoice in.

However, what is forgotten is that one year, in houses all over the world, things were oh so different. That year, which was hundreds of years before you and I or even our grandparents were born, a new unbelievable event happened. Now if you promise to go to sleep, I will tell you the version that my father told me.

It was Christmas Eve and, as you can imagine, Santa, all the reindeer and lots of elves pixies and fairies were hard at work. They all had their jobs to do which they had been responsible for since time began. It was a happy time with songs, jokes and laughter filling the air. What some people do not know is that elves pixie’s and fairies   are just like Santa. They want to see us happy. The sleigh had been washed and polished, and then very carefully loaded with sacks and parcels. There were beautiful paper ribbons and carefully tied on labels. Some parcels sang to you while others played a merry tune. The gang of helpers could not help but dance along. YES, even Santa! The dragons watched the party from the trees; unfortunately, there was so much going on they were so big they would get in the way. Also, if someone stood on their tails, they may shout, and the flames from their mouths might start a fire!

As the temperature dropped and it got dark the gang all knew their work was done. All that was left was for everyone to enjoy the rest of the special day while Santa got dressed and his reindeer had a much-deserved rest. Jorgetta, one of the dragons, had never seen the sleigh set off before, and promised herself she would enjoy every second. She worked out that Santa would set off in around one- hour so she made herself comfortable and lost herself in the magic that was to come. She could almost hear the screams of delight and the excited voices as the little children woke up. In truth she would have given nearly anything to be one of them. Oh, she had heard all about it from the elves. They often visited the houses just to check everything was going to plan. The elves could just blend into the trees or watch from the roof. None of them were ever seen. It was not just Christmas magic happened.  I mean, how do you think everyone gets exactly what they want. Christmas is not planned in just one week, it takes months to get it right.

Much later than she planned, the excited dragon checked the time.

“Holy carrot juice!” she shouted. “Santa should be gone by now”.

She looked through the window and let out a burst of flame in shock. Silly old Santa had eaten and drunk so much for his supper he was fast asleep. In fact he was snoring so loud Jorgetta could hear him through the window. She must get help! She flew as fast as her young wings could carry her, over the trees and through the night sky. She had to find a senior dragon. Some of them would not listen to what she had to say. She had to get it right. She flew higher and higher trying to get a better view. Dragons travel so fast she soon covered a great distance. All the time though, she was thinking about the time they were losing, time they could be helping Santa. Eventually she found the senior Dragon and Jorgetta swooped down. The senior dragon breathed fire at anything that got in his way. As Jorgetta landed on the tree, the senior dragon, known as the Elder, turned and looked at her.

“Why are you here at this time? Why are you not having fun? Surely you realise you need a pass to see me?”

“Sorry, your Highness but I am desperate, and we need to move fast.  I am so worried”, Jorgetta explained.

The look on the Elder’s face grew more serious by the second. This was history and tradition. It could not be changed. Christmas must be obeyed.

The two dragons were soon soaring quicker than ever before. The snow and the land below were not even noticed. Time and flight became all that mattered.

“Come on, little dragon,” urged the Elder, “we have no time”.

On arrival a large collection of Santa’s helpers had gathered, all with worried faces.

“What are we to do, your Highness?” they all asked at once. “We can’t let all the people down on this special night”.

One of the elves jumped down from a tree.

“I have been inside Santa’s house, and it looks like he has slipped and banged his head. I am sorry to say that he is still sleeping and there is not a chance of him driving tonight. He would crash and injure the reindeer.”

“Yes, I see”, replied the Elder “The problem is, only Santa can drive the reindeer, only he knows the password. And it is so so late…”.

“I have never done this before, and there are no guarantees, but I need to turn time back three hours. Only then have we a chance.”

“I need eight of the fittest, strongest, bravest dragons. And you young dragon…” he turned to Jorgetta, “I need you to come as well.  I need your common sense. If it were not for you, the world as people know it would change overnight. We also need around thirty little helpers; it will be extremely hard work so you must all be sure you can manage.”

, He checked his watch. “Yes”, he said,” it looks like the three hours have been taken off. I hope and pray it’s long enough”.

“Your highness,” Jorgetta interrupted, “we have no map…although…” Wait!”, exclaimed the young dragon. “I understand only Santa can steer reindeer but, could Rudolph fly free without being steered?

The rest of the gathering burst out laughing at this point. They thought it was a silly idea. The Elder held up his hand.

“QUIET!”, he demanded. “You all mock, but not one of you speaks. It must be done. It is dangerous but then tonight could be the end of us all. I want the dragons saddled up and the sleigh tied securely in ten minutes. Now, as for the helpers, we need them to build us a strong vehicle to drive in. One that runs on water. Now, quickly to work, GO! GO!”

It was amazing to watch, Wood was broken into the right size by hand. Special permanent glue that was, oh so strong, was used. They had a special team to fit the engine , and, guess what? If they used hot water it went much quicker!

All set to go, the Elder gave clear instructions as to what they were to do. Rudolph would guide the way, while the dragons followed pulling the massive weight of the parcels. Jorgetta was to fly behind catching any parcels or labels that fell off. The other helpers must be split into two teams one side handing out the right parcels and the other team delivering. There were sixty helpers all in all; would that be enough? Who knows? Rudolph was key in all this. He had so many years of practice, they needed his experience. He could tell them all where they were, what to do and where to go. This creature with his nose so bright was finally top of the reindeer tree.

Jorgetta was having the best time ever; it was so much fun and so exciting. Rocking horses had been magically transferred through doors, bikes had been left in garages, dolls in pushchairs squeezed through open windows and footballs bounced down chimneys then placed neatly under trees. It seemed like the harder they worked the more there was to do. The sleigh just getting fuller and fuller.

All the time they were watching for lights left on or excited voices whispering.

Sorry, the helpers thought, if you’re awake then you will have to wait for next year. Even the grown ups were fast asleep. Luckily, if anyone did start waking, the fairies just sprinkled sleep dust. This night was about the sleeping children. Any teddy bears or soft toys that had fallen out of bed were duly replaced. The only problem the helpers had was with the dogs, growling and barking everywhere. Why did humans put up with it? They mentioned it to Rudolph and of course he knew what to do. He produced a bag of biscuits and assured them this worked every time…of course he was right.

Rudolph and Jorgetta had built a good understanding. Rudolph laughed for ever when he heard the story of how Santa had been found and how Jorgetta had to act so quickly. Rudolph told his new friend all his adventures in years past. How they so nearly get seen every year, of presents falling into trees, and the favourite one was when Santa got stuck up the chimney. Oh, how they laughed at that. They both stood looking at the wonder of the Christmas tree lights against the dark night sky, as well as the deathly quiet that would be soon broken by excited playful voices. Rudolph explained that tonight was the one night of the year when all the clocks got put back two hours. They always needed the extra time. Jorgetta told him how the Senior Dragon had altered time by three hours because of the late start. Well smiled Rudolph the children will certainly have the energy to play with their new toys.

“Here, watch this,” he urged. He took a box of cigars and dropped it perfectly into a policeman’s passenger seat as he drove. Don’t worry he can’t see us smiled Rudolph. He gave his friend a turkey. “Give that to the old man watching from the window. It’s all part of the night you see, in truth anything can happen. It never gets challenged”, Rudolph explained.

As Jorgetta looked behind she could see the massive trail leading back to where they had been. Surely people could see that from their windows.

“Don’t worry”, Rudolph told his worried friend,” no one can see it.” And even if they did, what exactly would they say without appearing stark raving bonkers.

Rudolph suddenly started to laugh. “Can you imagine?”, he said. “If someone woke up tonight and saw us, what they would tell their school friends? My guess is they would just keep incredibly quiet. Now that would make Santa laugh”.

The other helpers were still running to it. They had never worked so hard making all the parcels look so tidy under the tree, none of the paper was torn, and the labels were perfect. And all without one of the songs they longed to sing. All the rooms left exactly as they found them. They could not even pinch a chocolate. The pixies really enjoyed a sit on the rocking horse and a couple made a note to come back and have a proper go later.

As their work for the night ended the helpers noticed lights were coming on and voices were starting to be heard.

It gets blooming earlier every year Rudolph observed. I reckon we have around an hour more work to do. Rudolph expertly guided the sleigh into the best parking.  He gave Jorgetta a bag of toys.

“Look, leave these by the doors ready for the helpers just to take in. It will save them walking back and forth.”

This seemed to help and soon things were going to plan. The fairies were told they needed more sleep dust, and everybody was running from job to job.

“Hurry up you lot!” Rudolph urged, “remember we have a massive Christmas of our own to get home to. If you’re not careful I will pinch your mince pie.”

“Looks like you already did!”, answered a naughty elf.

Because of her extra help in making people’s day special, Jorgetta delivered the last parcels. As she crept upstairs into Tim’s room the little boy’s eyes opened. His face was one of joy and confusion. Why was there a dragon in his room? And why was it carrying a sack of toys?

The friendly dragon whispered to Tim, Look, you’re dreaming, go back to sleep and I promise you will get a surprise present. Jorgetta was true to her word. And Tim put it down to the magic of Christmas!

So do you see. It is too easy to confuse tradition with history. In Tim’s eyes and the eyes of millions and millions of people over the world, History was changed that night whilst tradition continued.