Reindeer in the Christmas Traditions
Ever wondered why reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh?
Reindeer are a huge part of the story of Santa. Children love the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer who lights the way for Santa’s sleigh.
Laura Legend answers the age old question – “Why do reindeer pull the sleigh?”
We’ve all heard of Santa’s reindeer – Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and of course Rudolph. But, how did reindeer come into the Christmas story?
The names of Santa’s reindeer were stated in Clement C. Moore’s classic poem widely known as, “The Night Before Christmas”, also known as “A Visit from St. Nicholas”. Mr. Moore, due to his famous poem, is credited for much of our modern day version of Santa Clause. The poem was written in the 1820s.
All countries that include Santa in their holiday traditions don’t include the reindeer in the story of Santa. As a spin off of the Dutch version of Santa, Sinterklaas, Santa had a horse that was later replaced by flying reindeer. In some countries the folktale of Santa has a goat in it rather than a reindeer.
Reindeer were possibly selected as Santa’s mode of transportation because they live in the arctic while Santa is said to live at the North Pole. Thus it makes perfect sense for the reindeer to pull Santa’s sleigh.