Meet the 6ft4 Jewish elf taking Lapland by storm

While spending a gap year in Israel is seen as a rite of passage for many Jewish school leavers, Matan Goldman went to Lapland to become an elf. What’s more, he is a 6ft4 Jewish elf.

After he finished his schooling at Akiva and JCoSS, East Finchley-born Matan was hunting for a job when a friend suggested the role as one of Santa’s helpers.

“I thought, ‘This looks very fun and a bit different,’” he says. Without telling anyone, he sent in a cover letter and was called for an online interview.

“I wore a Christmas jumper and tried to make the background Christmassy,” he says of how he snagged the job. In response to questions on his experience and achievements that would make him a “good elf”, he told of his work as a leader on Noam summer camp, and being on a football team for 11 years.

“I'm used to dealing with kids and working on a team,” he says. “My role as an elf is quite similar in terms of getting the kids to engage.”

An elf’s working day starts at 7am and begins at the bakery station, where children later bake gingerbread cookies and write letters to Santa before decorating their creations.

When all the elves-in-training ran through the activities to ensure the smooth running of events, “Elf Matan” revealed that he was, in fact, a Jewish elf.

“We were making gingerbread cookies, and one cookie cutter was a star, like a Magen David, but I think it was just meant to be a star. I made one and etched a little chanukiah into it, for a bit of representation. And when we cooked it, someone said, ‘that looks like the Jewish star’.” When Matan said he was Jewish, they were stunned into silence.

“They thought I was joking, then they said, ‘Oh, wow!’ They were not expecting it. It was very nice.”

After all, as a child, Chanukah was Matan’s favourite time of year, and featured the customary songs, doughnuts and presents. “I was sad that I'm not going to be at home for Chanukah, so I brought a dreidel and a bunch of chocolate coins with me, and I hope to show the other elves a few traditions.”

Since his family never did Christmas during his childhood, he had to swot up on the festive traditions before he went to Lapland. His research took him through Santa’s story and his reindeer, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

“It was very new for me,” he says. “I knew he came in via the chimney, but I was unsure about his actual story, so one night I sat down and searched ‘Christmas explained’. I had to learn the names of the reindeer, because if the kids were to ask me, I wouldn’t know what to say.”

But then when he arrived in Lapland at the elves’ headquarters, he was shown a video of everything he should know for the job, and they also explained his back story – with some extra details for Matan should guests wonder about his unusual height.

“It helped a lot, because I was thinking they’re going to look at me and say, ‘you’re not an elf, obviously.’”

The “helpful” backstory explained that once upon a time the elves were awesome human children, and at five years old they received a letter from Santa to the Elf Academy. They stopped ageing at elf school, which lasts 100 years, and then they turn into elves. “And I tell them I drank a lot of milk and ate all my vegetables,” says Matan.

A day in the life of an elf includes taking children and their families on a reindeer sled to the elf base camp to toast marshmallows over the fire, play games and make snowmen. But Matan’s favourite part of the job is to drive a snowmobile with a heated sled attached at the back to Santa's house, where the transported children receive a gift.

“The children are 100 percent certain that we are real and that Santa is real,” says Matan. “It's very nice to be with someone who is so imaginative and enjoying it. It's also fun to send photos to my friends at university, of me on a snowmobile with the Northern Lights. I send it to them saying, ‘Are you in a lecture? I'm here!’”

His friends from JCoSS find his new job “hilarious”, and many did not believe him when he first revealed it. “When I explained, and they realised I was serious about it, they were very supportive. They thought it was cool.”

Likewise, his parents, who he didn't initially tell because they were anxious that he should find something worthwhile to do on his year off. “I remember going downstairs, saying ‘I've got an interview for a job.’ When I explained it to them, I could see their faces change. They looked so unbelievably confused. It was very funny.”

After his trip to Lapland, Matan will embark on his degree in aerospace engineering at Birmingham University, after which he plans to go to space. Although, he points out that he’s surpassed the maximum height to be an astronaut. “I'm hoping that could change as the technology improves,” he says.

Otherwise, there is always a role for him as an elf.