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'Tis the season. David Sedaris reads 'Santaland Diaries'

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Years before humorist David Sedaris became a celebrated writer, he worked as a Christmas elf at a Macy's department store in New York.

His time as Santa's helper was less than merry and bright.

Sedaris wrote about the dark side of holiday spirit in the Santaland Diaries, a sardonic collection of somewhat-exaggerated stories based on his travails as Crumpet the elf.

In 1992, Sedaris read from Santaland on Morning Edition. Thus, an NPR holiday tradition was born, and the struggling writer became an in-demand talent overnight.

Click the play button above to hear Sedaris read as Crumpet the elf.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Barry Gordemer is an award-winning producer, editor, and director for NPR's Morning Edition. He's helped produce and direct NPR coverage of two Persian Gulf wars, eight presidential elections, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. He's also produced numerous profiles of actors, musicians, and writers.