Santa Claus's reindeer facts for kids
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In many Christmas stories and traditions, Santa Claus's reindeer are special animals. They are famous for pulling Santa's sleigh high in the night sky. Their important job is to help Santa deliver gifts to children. This magical journey happens on Christmas Eve night, just before Christmas Day.
Many different stories talk about Santa's reindeer. However, a famous poem from 1823 helped shape what most people believe. This poem, called A Visit from St. Nicholas, is often credited to Clement Clarke Moore. It introduced the idea of Santa having eight reindeer. Their well-known names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.
Later, a popular story from 1939 added another famous reindeer. This was "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". A Christmas song about Rudolph in 1949 made him even more famous. Because of this, Rudolph is now often included with Santa's team.
Contents
The History of Santa's Reindeer
The First Reindeer Story
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The very first time anyone wrote about Santa's sleigh being pulled by a reindeer was in 1821. This happened in an illustrated poem for children. It was called "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight". The poem was published in New York. We don't know who wrote or drew the pictures for it.
This little book had eight colorful pictures. It was published by William B. Gilley. The first picture showed a sleigh with a sign that said "REWARDS". This sleigh was pulled by just one reindeer. This reindeer was not given a name in the poem.
The Famous Eight Reindeer
The idea of Santa having eight named reindeer mostly comes from a poem from 1823. This poem is called A Visit from St. Nicholas. It is usually said to be written by Clement Clarke Moore. This poem truly shaped how we imagine Santa's reindeer today.
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The poem first appeared in a newspaper in Troy, New York, on December 23, 1823. It gave names to all eight reindeer. The first six were Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, and Cupid. The last two were originally named "Dunder" and "Blixem". These names came from Dutch words meaning "thunder" and "lightning".
Here is how the poem described Santa calling his reindeer:
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!"
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Over time, Clement C. Moore changed the names of the last two reindeer. In his 1844 version of the poem, they became "Donder" and "Blitzen". This change made the names sound more like the German words for "thunder" and "lightning".
The poem then read:
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, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
The spelling of "Donder" later changed to "Donner". This became the standard way to spell the name in the early 1900s.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph's story was first written as a poem by Robert L. May in 1939. He wrote it for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores. The story was published as a book and given to children visiting the store at Christmas time.
The 1949 Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry made the character even more popular. Rudolph, with his glowing red nose, quickly became a beloved part of Santa's reindeer team.
Other Flying Animals in Stories
- Christmas Mountains
- "Dominick the Donkey"
- "Gouger, Tusker, Rooter, and Snouter", the flying hogs who pull the sled of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
- "Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr", the flying goats that pull Thor's chariot
- "Sleipnir", Odin's eight-legged horse
- "Moische, Herschel and Schlomo", the three donkeys that pull Hanukkah Harry's cart
See also
In Spanish: Renos navideños para niños
