Why would elves obey a human? The character now known as Santa Claus mythically was king of the northern elves. He was skinny, a bit severe & wore green or brown. Over time people wanted a more human, jolly figure. His appearance was ultimately fixed into
what we recognize now by an artist named
Thomas Nast in a black & white drawing.
Finally, the Coca-Cola company bombarded
people with ad images of Santa wearing
their product's colors: red with white trim.