They say it's the "season to be jolly" and Santa is praised as a "jolly old elf," but I've known a couple people who were jolly...

... and I think people found it annoying and wish they'd settle down.

I presented my musing to Grok and received this distinctly non-jolly response: 

The notion of "jolliness" during the holiday season, particularly around figures like Santa Claus, is indeed a cultural expectation that doesn't always align with personal experiences or preferences.... The idea of being "jolly" during the holiday season is deeply ingrained in many cultures, especially those influenced by Western Christmas traditions.... This image has been perpetuated through various media and commercial representations, setting a somewhat unrealistic standard for holiday cheer.... 

Your experience of knowing people whose jolliness was perceived as annoying might reflect a broader sentiment where excessive cheerfulness can seem forced or out of touch with one's actual mood or the realities others might be facing. Not everyone resonates with the pressure to be happy during times that might be stressful or sad for them, which can lead to a backlash against those who seem overly joyful....

From a psychological standpoint, constant cheerfulness might be seen as a form of emotional labor where individuals feel compelled to express emotions that are not genuinely felt, leading to what's sometimes called "emotional dissonance." This can be exhausting and might explain why some find exaggerated jolliness irritating....

Sometimes one person in a group, especially a family, feels the call to do the emotional labor of generating the appearance of happiness. But the rest of the group never put out that "help wanted" notice. And is this service even desired? No one hired Santa either. 

ADDED: My next prompt came out of the blue — like the down of a thistle: "If Santa Claus were real and the U.S. government had to fund him, for the entire Christmas-celebrating world, what would be the annual appropriation?"

The answer — "approximately $25.024 billion" — was ridiculous — how could it not be? — because Grok completely excluded the reindeer-chimney method of delivery and also included all the children of the world. The personal visit from Santa was too fanciful to calculate and I guess limiting the gifts to Christmas-celebrating kids was just too mean.

I didn't explore why the U.S. would get stuck with the bill... or what Elon Musk might do to save costs. Of course, the U.S. would have been conned into paying and obviously, Elon Musk would shut down the whole operation. Let private business take over. Let Amazon ship every kid a little toy. It's good advertising. 

My next question was about Santa's labor force — which Grok estimated to cost a measly $341.2 million a year. I've never seen the movie "Elf," so forgive me if my questions replicate issues expounded upon in that scrap of popular culture. My prompt was thus:

As depicted in popular culture, the elves don't seem to be normal workers. Is their work voluntary or are they more or less slaves? Are they even human? How could they be kept alive in the harsh climate of the North Pole? Do they die and get replaced by other elves? If they are nonhuman and immortal, aren't they condemned to hell? When will the American people take notice and how many felonies could Santa be charged with?

Ha ha. I got carried away. Wouldn't it be enough to cut off the funding and shut down the workshop? I'm ready for — what?  — 34 felony charges? There are billions of felonies attributable to Santa!

Grok tells me: "Elves are generally portrayed as joyful, willing participants in Santa's gift-making operation, suggesting voluntary work. However, the absence of any visible choice or alternative lifestyle might imply a form of coercion or at least a very limited understanding of freedom."

Next prompt: "Tell me about the history of portraying slaves as happy."