Santa Claus's reindeer

Santa Claus and seven of his reindeer in a parade in Toronto 2007

In traditional festive legend, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The commonly cited names of the eight reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. They are based on those used in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called "The Night Before Christmas"), arguably the basis of the reindeers' popularity.^[1]

The enduring popularity of the Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has led to Rudolph often joining the list, bringing the number of Santa Claus's reindeer up to nine.

List of reindeer

In traditional lore, Santa Claus's sleigh is led by eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder (variously spelled Donder and Donner), and Blixem (variously spelled Blixen and Blitzen), with Rudolph being a 20th-century inclusion.^[2][3]

The names Dunder and Blixem derive from Dutch words for thunder and lightning, respectively.

Origins

Single reindeer

Illustration to verse 1 of Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, 1821

The first reference to Santa's sleigh being pulled by a reindeer appears in Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, an illustrated children's poem published in New York in 1821.^[4][5] The names of the author and the illustrator are not known.^[5] The poem, with eight colored lithographic illustrations, was published by William B. Gilley as a small paperback book entitled The Children's Friend: A New-Year's Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve.^[6]

Eight reindeer

"A Visit From St. Nicholas", handwritten manuscript by Clement C. Moore

The 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") is largely credited for the contemporary Christmas lore that includes eight named reindeer.^[7]

The relevant segment of the poem reads:

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,
with a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:
"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!
"On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Dunder and Blixem!

"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

In An American Anthology, 1787–1900, Edmund Clarence Stedman reprints the 1844 Clement C. Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of "Donder and Blitzen," rather than the original 1823 version using the Dutch spelling, "Dunder and Blixem".^[1] Both phrases translate as "Thunder and Lightning" in English, though German for "thunder" is now spelled Donner, and the Dutch words would now be spelled Donder and Bliksem.

Rudolph (the red-nosed reindeer)

Rudolph's story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939, and published as a book to be given to children in the store at Christmas time.^[8] According to this story, Rudolph's glowing red nose made him a social outcast among the other reindeer. Santa Claus' worldwide flight one year was imperiled by severe fog. Visiting Rudolph's house to deliver his presents, Santa observed Rudolph's glowing red nose in the darkened bedroom and decided to use him as a makeshift lamp to guide his sleigh. Rudolph accepted Santa's request to lead the sleigh for the rest of the night, and he returned home a hero for having helped Santa Claus.

Rudolph's story is a popular Christmas story that has been retold in numerous forms, most notably a popular song, a stop motion television special and an animated feature film. The television special departed significantly from Robert L. May's original story, depicting Rudolph as Donner's son, who lived among Santa Claus' reindeer from birth. In 1998, a film titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie was released that depicted Rudolph as Blitzen's son.

In comics

• The comic strip Over the Hedge (which debuted in 1995), added a character named Ralph, the Infrared Nosed Reindeer, who is Rudolph's brother and has a nose that emits infrared radiation.

In film

• The feature film, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979), features an antagonist reindeer named Scratcher.
• The feature film, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998), introduces Mitzi as Rudolph's mother and Blitzen's wife (as opposed to the Rankin/Bass version, wherein Donner is Rudolph's father and his mother is unnamed). It also features two other reindeer Rudolph's love interest Zoey and his cousin and rival Arrow, the latter of whom is Cupid's son.
• The animated movie Annabelle's Wish tells the story of a young calf who dreams to fly after meeting Santa and his reindeer. Many years later in her old age she is granted her wish, and is transformed into a reindeer herself as she leads Santa's team.
• Chet is a young reindeer in training who is introduced in the 2002 feature film, The Santa Clause 2 (2002).
• In the film Blizzard (2003), the title character is Blitzen's daughter. The film also includes Delphi, Blitzen's mate and Blizzard's mother.
• In the 2011 film Arthur Christmas, Arthur along with his grandfather Grandsanta use a team of reindeer who are the great-great-grandchildren of the original eight, to pull Grandsanta's old sleigh.

In literature

• L. Frank Baum's story The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902) includes a list of ten reindeer, none of which match the names of the versions found in "A Visit from St. Nicholas". Flossie and Glossie are Santa's principal reindeer in Baum's story. Claus gathers eight more reindeer, named in rhyming pairs: Racer and Pacer, Fearless and Peerless, Ready and Steady, Feckless and Speckless.

In music

• "Run Rudolph Run" (1958), recorded by Chuck Berry a popular Christmas-rock song about Rudolph
• "Shadrack The Black Reindeer", was recorded by Loretta Lynn for a 1974 Christmas single.^[9]
• Joe Diffie's album Mr. Christmas (1995) features the song "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer".^[10]

In television

• The Rudolph (1964) special features Fireball as one of several reindeer trying out for the sleigh team. Fireball is the son of Blitzen; another reindeer is said to be the son of Dasher and struggles at flying, along with two other reindeer fawns of the same age. A young fawn named Clarice is also featured and eventually becomes Rudolph's love interest. Donner is portrayed as Rudolph's father.
• In the animated television special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), the Grinch disguises his dog Max as a reindeer.
• "Lightning", from the Sesame Street Christmas special, "Elmo Saves Christmas" 1996), is a reindeer-in-training.
• In the TV special Robbie the Reindeer (1999), the eponymous Robbie is ostensibly assumed to be the son of Rudolph. His special feature is his nose, which has supernatural powers that allow him to jump and fly farther and faster than most reindeer.
• The South Park Christmas special "Red Sleigh Down" (2002), Santa's sleigh is shot down over Iraq, killing the eight famous reindeer. The protagonists go to rescue him with Santa's backup team: Steven, Fluffy, Horace, Chantel, Skippy, Rainbow, Patches and Montel.
• In the TV special Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen (2006), Rusty is said to be Rudolph's younger brother. Unlike the other reindeer, Rusty is flightless, so instead assists Santa and the other reindeer from air traffic control.
• The TV series, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, introduced a special Super Sleuth Christmas Movie (2007) that included Vixen's husband Frost and daughter Holly.
• The television special, The Flight Before Christmas (2008), features Niko, a wild reindeer whose mother Oona claims he was fathered by one of Santa's team. After a falling out with his herd, he runs away to try to meet his father, learning to fly in the process. His father turns out to be Prancer. A sequel titled Little Brother, Big Trouble: A Christmas Adventure was released and featured Niko gaining a stepbrother named Jonni, after Oona marries a reindeer named Lenni.
• Thrasher is a top-secret, oversized reindeer introduced in the Disney TV special Prep & Landing (2009). He leads the titular "prep and landing" team of elves in a sleigh ahead of Santa Claus' main sled and is Dasher's second cousin.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Santa Claus's reindeer.

• Folklore
• Christmas Mountains
• Six White Boomers

References

Further reading

• Puckett, Catherine & Landis, Ben (15 December 2014). "The Other 364 Days of the Year: The Real Lives of Wild Reindeer Categories: Biology and Ecosystems". U.S. Geological Survey. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)