WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Life Day Treasury, by George Mann, Cavan Scott and Grant Griffin, on sale now.
As manufactured beings, the specific cultures of droids in the Star Wars universe are never really addressed in the series' movies and TV shows. However, supplemental material has always worked to fill those holes. Now, a story titled "An Old Hope" from the Star Wars: Life Day Treasury reveals droids actually have their own version of Santa Claus.
In the story, an astromech droid named LA-R1 ends up captured by Jawas on Tatooine while running an errand for his master. During his captivity, LA-R1 encounters a pessimistic droid named 9R-NC, who laments the cruelty of "organics." However, the other droids note that there are good organics, specifically citing one called the "Oil-Bringer."
From there, the droids launch into the story of the Oil-Bringer. A PK unit relates, "Once a year, a jolly old human travels the cosmos to ease the burden of droids everywhere. He oils joints, fixes logic boards, even soothes troubled motivators." Later, the PK unit and its companion, another PK unit, clarify that the Oil-Bringer does this because he cares about droids and performs his task while riding on a flying bantha. A different droid then claims the Oil-Bringer actually uses "a magical podracer" that is "powered by cybernetic cheer."
9R-NC, though, doesn't believe in the Oil-Bringer, so later in the night, LA-R1 tries to do some good for his companion in the spirit of the season. This eventually leads to LA-R1 being abandoned on the Jawa's Sandcrawler, where he's rescued by Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom he mistakes for the Oil-Bringer.
Stories of Santa Claus bringing presents to children have been around for centuries in one form or another. While his image has changed drastically over the years, he's now generally depicted as a jolly man who loves to give gifts to everyone across the world. "An Old Hope" provides its own twist on the legend, re-centering it on droids but keeping the logical holes in the story.
That being said, based on the story the droids tell in "An Old Hope," it's not totally clear just how widespread the legend of the Oil-Bringer really is. All of the droids captured with LA-R1 are from Tatooine, and a lot of the elements of the myth -- particularly the banthas and podracing -- are associated heavily with the planet. Still, podracing does take place on other planets, and banthas exist elsewhere. As such, the Oil-Bringer might just be a secretly pervasive legend among droids in the Star Wars universe.
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