You Know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen

Fictional reindeer who pull Santa Claus's sleigh

A parade bladder with a model of Santa'south reindeer and sleigh, Toronto 2009

In traditional festive legend and pop culture, Santa Claus'southward reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to assistance Santa Claus evangelize gifts to children on Christmas Eve.

The number of reindeer characters, and the names given to them (if any) vary in different versions, but those oft cited in the U.s. are the viii listed in Clement Clarke Moore'southward 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, the work that is probably responsible for the reindeer condign popularly known:^[one] Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (variously spelled Dunder and Donder) and Blitzen (variously spelled Blixen and Blixem).^{[note 1] [3] [four]}

The popularity of Robert L. May's 1939 storybook Rudolph the Cherry-Nosed Reindeer and the 1949 Christmas song "Rudolph the Cherry-Nosed Reindeer" has resulted in Rudolph often being included as the ninth grapheme.

Many other variations in reindeer names and number take appeared in fiction, music, moving picture and TV.

Origins and history [edit]

Single reindeer [edit]

The start reference to Santa'southward sleigh existence pulled by a reindeer appears in Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, an 1821 illustrated children'southward poem published in New York.^{[5] [6]} The names of the writer and the illustrator are not known.^[6] The verse form, with eight colored lithographic illustrations, was published by William B. Gilley every bit a small-scale paperback book entitled The Children's Friend: A New-Year'due south Present, to the Little Ones from V to Twelve.^[vii] The illustration to the showtime verse features a sleigh with a sign proverb "REWARDS" being pulled past an unnamed single reindeer.

8 reindeer [edit]

The 1823 poem past Cloudless C. Moore, A Visit from St. Nicholas (besides known as 'Twas the Nighttime Earlier Christmas), is largely credited for the mod Christmas lore that includes eight named reindeer.^[viii]

The eight reindeer, as they appeared in the starting time publication of Business relationship of a Visit from St. Nicholas in 1823.

The poem was first published in the Picket of Troy, New York on 23 Dec 1823. All eight reindeer were named, the first six existence Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and the last 2 "Dunder" and "Blixem" (meaning thunder and lightning in colloquial New York Dutch).^[9] The relevant role of the poem reads:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and phone call'd them by name:
"At present! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen,
"On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem;
"To the pinnacle of the porch! to the top of the wall!
"Now dash away! dash away! dash abroad all!"

The 8 reindeer, as they appeared in a handwritten manuscript of "A Visit From St. Nicholas" by Cloudless C. Moore from the 1860s.

Moore contradistinct the names of the last two reindeer several times;^[9] in an early on 1860s version of the poem, written equally a souvenir to a friend, they are named "Donder" and "Blitzen" (with revised punctuation and underlined reindeer names). The relevant part reads:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them past name;
"At present, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the peak of the wall!
At present dash away! nuance away! nuance away all!"

As printed in An American Anthology, 1787–1900, 6th impression between 1900 and 1909.

When Edmund Clarence Stedman collected the poem in his An American Anthology, 1787–1900, he also used "Donder" and "Blitzen", italicising the names.^[10]

The modern German spelling of "Donner" came into use only in the early twentieth-century, well afterwards Moore'due south death.^[9]

L. Frank Baum's ten reindeer [edit]

L. Frank Baum's story The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902) includes a list of ten reindeer, none of which friction match those in A Visit from St. Nicholas. Santa'southward principal reindeer are Flossie and Glossie, and he gathers others named Racer and Pacer, Reckless and Speckless, Fearless and Peerless, and Ready and Steady.^[11]

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer [edit]

Rudolph'south story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of section stores in 1939, and published as a volume to exist given to children in the store at Christmas time.^[12] Co-ordinate to this story, Rudolph'due south glowing red nose made him a social outcast amid the other reindeer. Santa Claus's worldwide flight ane year was imperiled by severe fog. Visiting Rudolph'south house to deliver his presents, Santa observed Rudolph'southward glowing red nose in the darkened sleeping accommodation and decided to use him every bit a makeshift lamp to guide his sleigh. Rudolph accepted Santa'southward request to pb the sleigh for the rest of the night, and he returned home a hero for having helped Santa Claus.

Appearances in popular media [edit]

• In Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Kris Kringle tells a store worker that he has made a mistake with his reindeer, namely that he has mixed up Cupid and Blitzen, that Dasher should be on the sleigh driver'south right hand side, and that Donner's antlers take got four points instead of 3. Later, all eight reindeer are named on Mr. Kringle's employment card as "next of kin."
• "Run Rudolph Run" (1958), recorded by Chuck Berry a popular Christmas-rock vocal most Rudolph.^[13]
• Prancer (1989) concerns a young girl who finds an injured reindeer who she realizes is Prancer. She nurses him back to health and returns him to Santa.
• KC & The Sunshine Band wrote the song Let's Go Dancing With Santa as part of their album A Sunshine Christmas, which featured Santa and his reindeer.^[14]
• The American Christmas fantasy family comedy-drama film The Santa Clause (1994), and its sequel The Santa Clause two (2002), both featured reindeer, i of which was called Comet.

Reindeer introduced afterwards Rudolph [edit]

In film [edit]

• The blithe film Annabelle's Wish (1997) tells the story of Annabelle, 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 squad.
• The feature film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998) introduces Mitzi as Rudolph'southward female parent and Blitzen'southward wife (every bit opposed to the Rankin/Bass version, wherein Donner is Rudolph's male parent and his female parent is unnamed). It besides features 2 other reindeer: Rudolph's love interest, Zoey, and his cousin and rival, Pointer, the latter of whom is Cupid's son.
• Chet is a young reindeer-in-training who is introduced in the 2002 characteristic film The Santa Clause 2.
• In the film Blizzard (2003), the title character is Blitzen's daughter. The pic likewise includes Delphi, Blitzen's mate and Blizzard'southward female parent.
• In the motion-picture show Arthur Christmas (2011), Arthur and his granddaddy Grandsanta use a squad of reindeer who are the great-peachy-grandchildren of the original 8 to pull Grandsanta's quondam sleigh.
• In the flick Noelle (2019), the protagonist gets help from her "personal" reindeer, a white calf named Snowcone.

In music [edit]

• "Shadrack The Blackness Reindeer", was recorded by Loretta Lynn for a 1974 Christmas unmarried.^[xv]
• Joe Diffie's album Mr. Christmas (1995) features the vocal "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer", which is about Rudolph'south cousin.^[16]
• Australian trio Tripod wrote the song "Fabian" for their album Fegh Maha (2004) about an arrogant and self-serving reindeer. The song begins with a list of the reindeer: "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and ... Chopper and Nixon."^[17]

In television [edit]

• The end-motion animated TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) features Fireball, son of Blitzen, every bit 1 of several reindeer trying out for the sleigh team. Another reindeer is said to exist the son of Dasher and struggles at flight, along with two other reindeer fawns of the same age. A young fawn named Clarice is too featured and eventually becomes Rudolph'southward beloved interest. Donner is portrayed as Rudolph'southward male parent, while his mother is left unnamed.
  • A cease-movement animated sequel, Rudolph and Frosty'south Christmas in July (1979), features an additional antagonist reindeer named Scratcher, who was originally planned to lead Santa'southward team before Rudolph was chosen.
• 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.
• Olive, the Other Reindeer was the protagonist of a 1997 book and a 1999 Tv Christmas special produced by Matt Groening. The name is a pun from the line all of the other reindeer.. from the Rudolph song.
• In the Television set special Robbie the Reindeer (1999), the eponymous Robbie is ostensibly causeless to be the son of Rudolph. His special feature is his olfactory organ, which has supernatural powers that allow him to bound and fly farther and faster than nearly reindeer.
• The Southward Park Christmas special "Reddish Sleigh Down" (2002), Santa's sleigh is shot down over Republic of iraq, killing the eight famous reindeer. The protagonists become to rescue him with Santa'southward backup squad: Steven, Fluffy, Horace, Chantel, Skippy, Rainbow, Patches, and Montel.
• The TV series, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, introduced a special Super Sleuth Christmas Moving-picture show (2007) that included Vixen'southward husband Frost and daughter Holly.
• The telly special, The Flight Earlier Christmas (2008), features Niko, a wild reindeer whose mother Oona claims he was fathered by ane of Santa's squad. After a falling out with his herd, he runs away to try to meet his male parent, learning to fly in the procedure. His father turns out to exist Prancer. A sequel titled Little Blood brother, Large Trouble: A Christmas Adventure was released and featured Niko gaining a stepbrother named Jonni, subsequently Oona marries a reindeer named Lenni.
• Thrasher is a meridian-clandestine, oversized reindeer introduced in the Disney Telly special Prep & Landing (2009). He leads the titular "prep and landing" team of elves in a sleigh ahead of Santa Claus' main sleigh and is Dasher's second cousin.

Encounter also [edit]

• Christmas Mountains
• "Dominick the Donkey"

Notes [edit]

1. ^ The names Dunder and Blixem derive from Dutch words for thunder and lightning, respectively, or German language for another spellings.^[2]

References [edit]

1. ^ Moore, Clement C. (ii December 1823). "An Business relationship of A Visit from St. Nicholas". Troy Sentinel. p. two. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
2. ^ Emery, David. "Donner, Donder, or Dunder? Santa's Reindeer'due south Name Explained". Thoughtco.com. Retrieved xiv January 2019.
3. ^ Jeffers, Harry Paul (2001). Legends of Santa Claus. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications. p. 85. ISBN9780822549833.
4. ^ Triefeldt, Laurie (2008). People & Places: A Special Collection. Sanger, CA: Quill Driver Books. p. 77. ISBN9781884956713.
5. ^ Bowler, Gerry (2000). The World Encyclopedia of Christmas . Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. p. 199. ISBN0-7710-1531-3.
6. ^ ^{a b} Bowler, Gerry (2005). Santa Claus: a biography. McClelland & Stewart Ltd. p. 37. ISBN978-0-7710-1668-4.
7. ^ "A New-Year'south nowadays, to the little ones from five to twelve". The Children's Friend. Broadway, New York: Gilley, William B. Iii. 1821.
8. ^ Siefker, Phyllis (1997). Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 4. ISBN0-7864-0246-six.
9. ^ ^{a b c} Goodwin, George (2019). Christmas traditions : a celebration of Christmas lore. London: British Library. p. 84. ISBN978-0-7123-5294-ix. OCLC 1120057499.
10. ^ Stedman, Edmund Clarence (ed.). An American anthology, 1787-1900 (6th ed.). Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and company. p. 15.
11. ^ Baum, L. Frank (1902). The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Indianapolis: The Bowen-Merrill company. p. 160.
12. ^ Wook Kim (17 December 2012). "Yule Laugh, Yule Weep: 10 Things Yous Didn't Know About Love Holiday Songs (With holiday cheer in the air, TIME takes a closer look at some of the weird stories backside our favorite seasonal tunes)". Time. – "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (p. 3)
13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920–2004). Wisconsin: Record Enquiry Inc. ISBN0-89820-161-6.
14. ^ "Permit's Go Dancing with Santa". YouTube. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
15. ^ "Loretta Lynn - Shadrack the Black Reindeer/Let'due south Put the Christ Dorsum in Christmas (Vinyl)". Discogs . Retrieved 30 Apr 2016.
16. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Mr. Christmas - Joe Diffie - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
17. ^ "Tripod - Fabian". YouTube. 27 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved xiv Jan 2019.

Further reading [edit]

• 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.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus%27s_reindeer

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