Females lead the way for Santa’s sleigh

By Dr. Beth Leermakers

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. Most people can name most, if not all, of Santa’s reindeer. I had to look up a few names. Keep reading if you can’t remember them all. 

Just for fun, I’ll delve into the history of Santa’s reindeer (family-friendly version).

Did Santa always use 

reindeer to deliver gifts? 

No. St. Nicholas of Myra, a medieval bishop from Holland who was the first Santa Claus, rode a white horse over the rooftops and dropped presents down the chimney. The children would find their gifts early the next morning, often hidden in their shoes. 

When did Santa start 

using reindeer?

In 1821. According to a children’s poem, Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, Santa first used one reindeer to pull his sleigh:

Old Santeclaus with much delight

His reindeer drives this frosty night.

O’er chimney tops, and tracks of snow,

To bring his yearly gifts to you.

In 1823, Santa added seven reindeer to his delivery team. The well-known poem, The Night Before Christmas, mentions eight flying reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh and identifies them by name:

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,

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 called 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!”

Though originally named Dunder and Blixem (Dutch words meaning “thunder” and “lightning”), these reindeer are now called Donner and Blitzen.

Why does Santa 

use reindeer?

Reindeer are well adapted to cold climates, like at the North Pole. Their bodies are naturally covered with hollow hairs, which trap in air and keep them well-insulated, and their circulatory systems keep the cooler blood in the reindeer’s limbs from drawing heat from the warm blood in their core body.

Reindeer also have excellent night vision and can see ultraviolet light. In the winter, when the sun is low on the horizon, the light that hits our eyes during the Christmas season is mainly ultraviolet light. These visual abilities make reindeer well-suited for pulling Santa’s sleigh, since Santa (like all people) can’t see ultraviolet light. 

In the northern/Arctic part of the world, including Scandinavian and Eastern European countries, reindeer were often used for transportation, pulling sleds and sleighs. In the snowy Arctic of northern Norway, reindeer are still a way of life for the Laplanders, Northern Europe’s oldest surviving indigenous people. Even today Laplanders herd reindeer into the mountains for the long winter and bring them down in the spring. The Laplanders typically used one reindeer to pull a sled, but they sometimes used more when pulling supplies. These days, snowmobiles have replaced reindeer for transportation. 

Santa has excellent reindeer-driving skills. Reindeer can be skittish, so harnessing eight reindeer together and getting them all moving in the same direction are challenging — but possible in the right hands (according to Laplander herders). 

When did Rudolph join Santa’s team? 

In 1939. Santa read the Christmas Eve weather forecast for Chicago and knew he needed to prepare for heavy fog. He recruited a reindeer with a “nose so bright” to help him navigate low-visibility conditions. That same year Robert May, a copywriter for Montgomery Ward, told the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  

Are Santa’s reindeer 

boys or girls?

Girls. Male reindeer shed their antlers at the end of the mating season in early December, while females keep their thinner antlers throughout the winter, shedding them in May.

Female reindeer are better insulated for cold weather. At Christmas-time, male reindeer carry as little as 5 percent body fat, having lost much of their fatty stores during the energy-sapping mating season. Female reindeer enter winter with about 50 percent body fat. The fat, which can be a couple inches thick on their rumps, keeps the reindeer toasty warm in temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit. The girls don’t need to bundle up like Santa does. 

What snacks do 

Santa’s reindeer like?

Reindeer usually eat plants such as grasses and leafy greens. You could put out a salad, carrots or apples for Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve. 

Merry Christmas! 

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