Reindeer

Christmas reindeer in my neighborhood

A reindeer in my neighbor’s yard last year — the whole ensemble of decorations is back now.

This Rudolph’s antlers should be around 4’ high.

Live Reindeer

Guess why I'm thinking about reindeer? I find reindeer to be a fascinating species that I’ve seen a few times. Here are some reindeer photos of actual wild animals that I've seen in the Arctic. My photos were taken inside the Arctic Circle.

A reindeer in Greenland, 2022. Both male and female reindeer have antlers.

A reindeer grazing on small tundra plants in Svalbard, 2015

Reindeer in the snow, Svalbard, 2015. These reindeer are smaller than those in other places, and especially well-adapted to the brutal climate this far north.

You can ride a sleigh behind a reindeer.

In the northern part of Finland, domestic reindeer are very common, and used for tourist transportation. 
I have never been there or done this. (source)

Santa's reindeer made their first appearance in 1821.

Probably the first image of Santa with reindeer (says Wikipedia) was in an anonymous publication titled "The Children's friend. Number III. A New-Year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve," published in 1821. The solo reindeer, shown parking Santa's sleigh on a rooftop, was unnamed.

Source: Wikipedia on Santa's Reindeer

Shortly after this, in 1823, came the famous poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore. Actual surveys show that a huge percent of Americans have the entire poem memorized!

The number of reindeer is eight, and they have names -- all of which most people can't remember, can you? Just in case, here's the list from the original poem:

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!

Santa's sleigh with eight reindeer as invented by Moore in "A Visit from St. Nicholas"

For much much more information on the poem see "The Story Behind the Most Famous Christmas Poem of All" by Paul Hond.

One More Reindeer

Based on a book by Robert L. May from 1939, this record by Gene Autry was the number one hit at Christmas in 1949, and it's been a Christmas classic ever since.

Back to my neighborhood

A neighbor’s banner connects to the original reindeer story.

Reindeer have been playing a part in a completely different area of popular culture lately as well — TV crime dramas set in Lapland among the villages where the reindeer live. See this article: “Reindeer noir, the Finnish crime sub-genre influenced by Santa’s home town.” I’m intrigued!

UPDATE:One More Reindeer

Original photos © 2015, 2022, 2023 mae sander