#ojancanu

[diioonysus]

cantabrian mythology | creatures

[benito-cereno]

The Alphabet of Christmas, by Benito Cereno and Chuck Knigge, day 5: E is Esteru, the woodsman for fairies

L’Esteru is the gift-bringer from Cantabria in northern Spain. He is a woodcutter whose name might be derived from the word “estereo,” which means a cubic meter of wood, indicating how much he can carry on his back. He carves this wood into toys that he delivers to children on the back of his donkey, El Burru.

He is connected by some stories to the anjanas, a race of fairies in Cantabrian lore who also deliver gifts at Christmastime. They are known to bring gifts to children in need on Epiphany Eve, and they bring exceptionally large bundles of gifts every four years.

Perhaps more impressively, however, the anjanas also protect children by slaying a fierce race of Cantabrian cyclopes known as the Ojáncanos. These savage giants have a single weakness: one white hair among their shaggy red beards. If an anjana can fly deftly enough to grab this hair and yank it out, the giant will fall immediately dead.

Netflix has a somewhat average movie about Esteru that they call In the Land of Magic, but which is known almost everywhere else in English as Mule-Tide Christmas. The dub refers to Esteru as Santa, which is an obviously localization. But if kids can get over the fact that Santa is dressed like a Cantabrian woodsman for some reason, or that he has a donkey with a really grating voice instead of reindeer, I think they’ll probably still flip their shit the first time “Santa” turns into an owl.

E is also for:

Elves. They’re elves.

Previous letters here.