Empath's personal journal.
It is Christmas Day in the Smurf Village, and this year for some reason Papa Smurf is not present to give out the gifts to his little Smurfs. So naturally this smurf took the initiative to be the Smurf that would do the honors. It has been a day that this smurf was looking forward to, as this would be the first Christmas that Polaris Psyche would spend with us in the Smurf Village. This smurf wants to make sure that this day would be the most pleasurable one that Polaris Psyche has ever had, even if Papa Smurf is not currently present with us to enjoy it.
It was the morning of Christmas Day, and every Smurf was asleep until they heard the sound of Harmony's horn, signaling everybody to wake up. They got out of beds, dressed up as warm as they could, and gathered around the big Christmas tree in the center of the village.
They could see that Empath was already at the tree. "Merry Christmas, my fellow Smurfs!" he called out.
"Where's Papa Smurf? I thought he'd be out here smurfing the presents!" Nat said.
"Yeah, Papa's usually out there around this time on this day," Snappy said.
"You mean Pappy's not going to join us this year?" Sassette asked.
"He's got his own things to smurf care of, so why should we bother him?" Slouchy said, shrugging his shoulders.
"We will still have a happy Christmas day with or without Papa Smurf present, my little Smurflings," Brainy said.
"Brainy is right," Empath said. "We shouldn't let Papa Smurf's absence from the festivities ruin this day for the rest of us. At least we are still here together."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Start smurfing out the presents!" Hefty said.
"Yeah, let's get smurfing with the presents," Handy seconded.
"I hate waiting for the presents."
"I think we should smurf a prayer before the presents are passed out," Tapper said, stepping forward to interrupt the festivities. He then bowed his head and prayed, "O Lord God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, please bless this day in which Your only begotten Son has condescended in the form of man for the sake of our salvation, and please bless the fellowship of my fellow Smurfs, that it may be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight. For I ask this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
"Amen," Duncan and Smurfette responded.
"Okay, prayer time's over!" Hefty said. "Smurf with the presents already!"
"Here you go, Hefty...the first present is yours!" Empath said, passing the gift box over to Hefty, which he caught and quickly opened.
"Maybe I should help you pass out the presents, Empath," Smurfette said as she went over and stood beside Empath, and he handed her a present which she gave to one of her fellow Smurfs.
One by one the Smurfs opened their presents. Some Smurfs squealed in glee over seeing what they received. Some were a little more reserved in their response. Some just groaned as if the gift they received was the last thing they wanted.
Finally Empath came to the last gift, which he gave to Polaris Psyche, who was standing there waiting patiently until all the Smurfs received their gifts.
"It's a woolen Smurf hat, with gloves and a scarf," Polaris mentioned as he looked inside the box at his gift.
"This smurf thought that you would like something that will keep you warm when you're doing your security walks through the village, Polaris," Empath said.
"At the very least, Empath, it is an interesting gift," Polaris said in his usual flat tone.
"Try it on, Polaris," Empath suggested. "Let this smurf see how you look in it."
"This one does not see the point in wearing clothes just to display them before others, Empath," Polaris said.
"It's just that people like seeing how others would look wearing new clothes, Polaris," Empath said. "It's basically a custom for both humans and Smurfs."
"If this is only for you to evaluate how this one looks wearing the hat, then this one will do it," Polaris said. He then pulled the hat out of the box and put it on.
"Here, let this smurf adjust the hat," Empath said, reaching out to shift the top part of the hat so that it flopped forward like a regular Smurf hat. "Now you look like your fellow Smurfs."
Empath gave Polaris a mirror to see himself in. "Hmmm...so it would seem," he duly noted as he saw his reflection with the woolen Smurf hat.
"This smurf senses that you're not very excited about wearing the hat, Polaris," Empath said.
As the Smurfs were departing from the Christmas tree with their presents, Tapper and Duncan both joined Empath and Polaris.
"So how's the laddie enjoying Christmas so far?" Duncan asked.
"This one finds the experience of the holiday rather...pleasurable, for a lack of a better way to describe the experience," Polaris said in his usual flat tone.
"You'll smurf used to the way the Smurfs celebrate this holiday season, my dear Polaris," Tapper said. "Back before we even heard that there was a holiday called Christmas, the Smurfs used to celebrate the Winter Solstice, in which we resmurf the first day that Mother Nature and Father Time created the heavens and the earth, smurfing it with all sorts of plants and living beings from the least to the greatest."
"But you don't believe that this Mother Nature and Father Time created all that exists in the world," Polaris said.
"Not since I started reading the holy book and became a Christian because of that, my friend," Tapper said. "It says in the first chapter of Genesis that the Almighty Himself created the heavens and the earth all in six days, and on the seventh day He rested and made it a day of rest for all beings."
"That must make it hard to sit through the recital of the First Day story that is told every year, Tapper," Empath said.
"I have faith that there will be Smurfs who will smurf to know the truth about the Almighty and that they will smurf their lives over to Him, Empath," Tapper said.
"I'd say to just let the laddies believe what they want, as long as they hurt none with what they believe, laddie," Duncan said.
"Ah, but the Proverbs say there's a way that smurfs right to a man, but the end of that way is death, my fellow Duncan," Tapper said.
"I don't think today is a good day to get into arguments over religious beliefs, Tapper," Empath said. "We should let this be a day that Smurfs can enjoy themselves and each other in peace."
"This one would wholeheartedly agree with Empath," Polaris said. "We can resume our discussions on religious beliefs when this holiday is over."
Tapper sighed. "Very well, I can respect your wishes since I refuse to smurf my position as a follower of Christ to be dogmatic to the point of being pushy. But I will still pray for you nonetheless, you have my word on that."
"Come, let's smurf open a bottle of your best whisky to celebrate this day of days together with a toast," Duncan said.
"Of course, but you do know that it's called whiskey," Tapper said.
"Ha! A true Smurfsman calls it whisky, you know," Duncan said.
"But a member of my family clan refers to it by the proper name of whiskey, my friend," Tapper said.
Empath and Polaris watch as Tapper and Duncan walk off together with each other, arguing over a word. "There goes the best of friends together in this village, Polaris," Empath said.
"It is quite surprising how the two Smurfs even manage to get along with each other with such trivial debates that they discuss with each other," Polaris said.
"Just because they argue doesn't mean they don't care for each other," Empath said.
The both of them joined the other Smurfs as they gathered in the dining hall for Greedy's Christmas banquet, with tables that were lined up with goodies for everyone to enjoy.
"So how's your first Christmas so far, Polaris?" Smurfette asked as she joined the both of them at the table.
"It was...rather interesting, fellow Smurfette," Polaris answered. "This one can see that it is a festive time of activities for celebrating the change of seasons, and yet everybody in the village seems to have control over their behaviors...apart from Jokey constantly playing his pranks on other Smurfs."
Smurfette giggled. "I don't think Jokey will ever stop smurfing pranks on anyone no matter what the season is, Polaris. I only hope that you don't fall for them like most Smurfs usually do."
"Here comes Biscotti with another plate of fruitcake," Empath noted. "That stuff just never seems to stay on the table for very long."
"This one wonders where all this fruitcake disappears to, if it isn't Greedy and Nabby who eats it like they eat everything else," Polaris said.
"Look! There he is!" Smurfette said, noticing Hefty going to the banquet table and getting as much fruitcake as he can to fill his plate.
"Oh, yeah...it's Hefty and that appetite of his for fruitcake," Empath said. "He always does that every year."
"It is remarkably strange for him to constantly eat fruitcake like this, given his particular normal eating habits, Empath," Polaris commented. "This one wonders about his attraction to that specific food item in question."
"Why don't you ask him yourself, Polaris?" Smurfette suggested. "I'm sure he won't mind if you did."
"It would not seem prudent for this one to ask Hefty such casual questions, since this one senses his animosity toward Psyches and telepaths in general," Polaris said.
"Hefty's usually a bit more gentle around this time of year, Polaris," Empath said. "This smurf doubts you'll get much anger out of him if you're inquiring about his current eating habits."
Polaris sighed. "Then this one will venture a visit to his table for a brief conversation." He went over to the table where Hefty was sitting at, enjoying his fruitcake.
"Well, if it isn't Empath's star-faced friend," Hefty greeted. "What do you want to smurf me for?"
"This one is only curious about your desire for your constant consumption of fruitcake, fellow Hefty," Polaris said.
"So you noticed," Hefty said. "It's a very hard habit for me to hide around this time of year."
"Why is it that you eat a lot of fruitcake when it isn't part of your normal diet, if you don't mind this one asking?" Polaris asked.
"Honestly I don't know why, Polaris," Hefty answered. "I'm usually very faithful when it smurfs to keep to my regular diet. I don't like smurfing a lot of sweet stuff and junk like my fellow Smurfs do. But come Christmas, when Greedy and Biscotti start baking up the fruitcake...it's like I haven't smurfed real food in ages. And the strange part about it is that I actually enjoy the taste. You should have been here the winter when I first smurfed fruitcake."
"So this has been a lifelong seasonal habit for you, Hefty," Polaris surmised. "It's amazing with the amount that you have ingested that you show no signs of it adding weight to your figure."
"I guess you can smurf it my guilty pleasure," Hefty said, smiling. "I smurf a lot of this stuff, and I still do my regular exercise and work routines so none of it makes me smurf out like Greedy when he smurfs his own cooking. You should try it sometime...you'll find it smurfier than your usual bland nutrient paste."
"This one only wishes that were possible, Hefty, but you do know my particular dietary requirements," Polaris said.
"Too bad for you, then," Hefty said. "I guess that just means more for me. It must be a drag for you to keep smurfing the same thing every day, which is why I'm glad I'm not a Psyche."
"Perhaps someday this one may be able to experience more than just what this one is restricted to, Hefty," Polaris said. "Anyway, this one appreciates your sharing this 'guilty pleasure' of yours to this one."
"You might not want to smurf that hat everywhere you go in the village, Polaris," Hefty commented. "I just don't think you smurf good wearing it."
After dinner, the Smurfs gathered together at the Smurf Village Theater to hear the orchestra play various musical compositions before it was time for them to go to bed. Empath and Polaris both sat together with each other and listened intently while carrying a quiet conversation with each other.
"This one is interested in knowing about the legend of Nicholas of the North, the toymaker who brings gifts to everyone throughout the world on Christmas Eve," Polaris said.
"We first discovered Nicholas about a few years before this smurf returned home from Psychelia, which was when Baby Smurf first came to the village," Empath said. "He was on his way in preparation to deliver presents when the evil witch Chlorhydris visited him with a sprig of mistletoe to kiss him under. Little did Nicholas know that she had enchanted the mistletoe with an evil spell that would make whoever she kissed under it be poisoned with hate. Papa Smurf discovered this was what happened when the Smurfs visited him, and so with the help of Baby Smurf, we restored Nicholas' natural affections for people, and we also got his sleigh to fly through the sky by having the reindeer pulling it be able to fly."
"Having flying reindeer be able to pull a sleigh," Polaris said, musing over the thought. "It would be a fascinating thing for this one to experience firsthand if this one was there at the time that it happened. But this one senses that this wasn't the first time you actually met the person."
"Indeed it wasn't, Polaris," Empath said. "It was back during one of this smurf's visits to the Smurf Village, around the time of the Winter Solstice, that we first encountered him out in the woods. Humans were a very rare thing to encounter in the forest in those days, as few of them would know about the forest that exists in what they call the Cursed Country."
"This one would be interested to know the story about how you first encountered Nicholas of the North back during that time period, Empath," Polaris said.
"Very well, then, Polaris, this is how it all happened," Empath said.