Reindeer in Santa Claus's sleigh. Interesting facts about Santa's reindeer. Rudolph's Guiding Nose

There is Santa Claus, and then there are his reindeer. Reindeer can live quite well without Santa, but Santa is nowhere without reindeer.
We know little about them, unlike the inhabitants of the countries of the already completely rotten Western world.

There are nine of them. Everyone has a name, character, habits - everyone has their own. :)

Their names (in English/French):

Dasher/ Tornade - Swift
Dancer (Dancer) / Danseur (Dancer) - Dancer
Prancer (Prancer)/ Furie (Furie) - Horse
Vixen (Vixen)/ Fringant (Frengan) - Frisky
Comet (Comets) / Comète (Comets) - Comet
Cupid/ Cupidon - Cupid
Donner (Donner) / Tonnerre - Thunder
Blitzen/Éclair - Lightning
Rudolph (Rudolph) / Rodophe - Rudolf

But at first there were eight of them. They gained popularity with the publication of Clement Clarke Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. In this poem, the reindeer had Dutch names (similar to how the name Santa Claus is a modified Dutch version of St. Nicholas).

Edmund Clarence Stedman placed in his "American Anthology 1787-1900." this poem is an 1844 edition in which the Dutch names Dunder (Thunder) and Blixem (Lightning) were replaced by the Germanized forms Donder and Blitzen. Later the name Donder took the form Donner, which corresponds to the norms of modern German.

Rudolph the Reindeer didn't join the classic eight until 1939, a century later, when the poet Robert L. May wrote poems published in a book given to children at the Montgomery Ward supermarket chain during Christmas.

In a brief retelling, the story of Rudolf Red Nose goes like this:
“Once upon a time there was a reindeer named Rudolph. He had a big red shining nose, and the other deer teased and mocked him. Even his own family - brothers, sisters, and mom and dad were ashamed of him and drove him away.

Rudolf suffered greatly. But one day Santa and his team found themselves in thick fog and realized that in such weather it would be very difficult for him to complete his annual mission of distributing gifts to children. Rudolph came to the rescue: his red nose shone through the fog like a bright lantern and Christmas was saved.

Since then, Rudolph has become Santa’s main and favorite reindeer, and he has a reason to be proud of his wonderful nose.”


May, in fact, outlined the story of his childhood - he also had problems communicating with his peers. It is curious that the customers were dissatisfied with May’s creation and for a long time refused to print Rudolph’s story. So May's boss was worried that a red nose, as a traditional attribute of an alcoholic, would not be suitable for a Christmas fairy tale. However, in 1939, May's poems about Rudolph sold 500 thousand copies. Subsequently, circulations became multimillion-dollar.

The deer's popularity grew even more in 1949, when May's friend (according to another version, relative) Johnny Marks set the poem to music, and the resulting song was performed by singer Gene Autry. Subsequently, Rudolf's story was translated into 25 languages ​​of the world. Since 1964, American television channels have traditionally shown films and cartoons about Rudolph on Christmas Eve.

Original composition

The list of 8 deer gained popularity after the publication of Clement Clarke Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. In this poem, the reindeer had Dutch names (similar to how the name Santa Claus is a modified Dutch version of St. Nicholas). Edmund Clarence Stedman included in his "American Anthology 1787-1900." this is a poem in the 1844 version in which Dutch names Dunder(thunder) and Blixem(lightning) have been replaced by Germanized forms Donder And Blitzen. Later name Donder took the form Donner, which corresponds to the norms of modern German language.

The names of deer are now well established in North American tradition. Below are their English and French versions (the latter are in use in Canada):

  • Dasher(Dasher), “swift” / Tornade (Tornade)
  • Dancer(Dancer), “dancer” / Danseur (Dancer)
  • Prancer(Prancer), “horse” / Furie (Furie)
  • Vixen(Vixen), "frisky" / Fringant (Frengan)
  • Comet(Comet), "comet" / Comète (Comet)
  • Cupid(Cupid), "Cupid" / Cupidon (Cupid)
  • Donner(Donner), German. “thunder” / Tonnerre (Tonner)
  • Blitzen(Blitzen), German. "lightning" / Éclair (Eclair)
  • Rudolph(Rudolph) / Rodophe (Rodolph)

Rudolph is the ninth and most popular reindeer


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See what "Santa Claus' reindeer" is in other dictionaries:

    Santa Claus; m. [English] Santa Claus] [in capital letters] In some countries: a traditional character of the Christmas and New Year holidays is a gray-bearded old man bringing gifts; Father Frost. Santa Claus' reindeer. ◁ Santa Claus, oh, oh; S ie... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    Santa Claus- Santa Claus; m. (English Santa Claus) see also. Santa Claus In some countries: a traditional character of the Christmas and New Year holidays is a gray-bearded old man bringing gifts; Father Frost. Santa Claus' reindeer... Dictionary of many expressions

    Another name for this concept is “Santa”; see also other meanings. Santa Claus ... Wikipedia

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Books

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There is Santa Claus, and then there are his reindeer. Reindeer can easily live without Santa, but Santa can't live without reindeer.
We know little about them, unlike the inhabitants of the countries of the already completely rotten Western world.
There are nine of them. Everyone has a name, character, habits - everyone has their own. :)
Their names (in English/French):
Dasher/ Tornade - Swift
Dancer (Dancer) / Danseur (Dancer) - Dancer
Prancer (Prancer)/ Furie (Furie) - Horse
Vixen (Vixen)/ Fringant (Frengan) - Frisky
Comet (Comets) / Comète (Comets) - Comet
Cupid/ Cupidon - Cupid
Donner (Donner) / Tonnerre - Thunder
Blitzen/Éclair - Lightning
Rudolph (Rudolph) / Rodophe - Rudolf

But at first there were eight of them. They gained popularity with the publication of Clement Clarke Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. In this poem, the reindeer had Dutch names (similar to how the name Santa Claus is a modified Dutch version of St. Nicholas).

Edmund Clarence Stedman placed in his "American Anthology 1787-1900." this poem is an 1844 edition in which the Dutch names Dunder (Thunder) and Blixem (Lightning) were replaced by the Germanized forms Donder and Blitzen. Later the name Donder took the form Donner, which corresponds to the norms of modern German.

Rudolph the Reindeer didn't join the classic eight until 1939, a century later, when the poet Robert L. May wrote poems published in a book given to children at the Montgomery Ward supermarket chain during Christmas.

In a brief retelling, the story of Rudolf Red Nose goes like this:
“Once upon a time there was a reindeer named Rudolph. He had a big red shining nose, and the other deer teased and mocked him. Even his own family - brothers, sisters, and mom and dad were ashamed of him and drove him away.

Rudolf suffered greatly. But one day Santa and his team found themselves in thick fog and realized that in such weather it would be very difficult for him to complete his annual mission of distributing gifts to children. Rudolph came to the rescue: his red nose shone through the fog like a bright lantern and Christmas was saved.

Since then, Rudolph has become Santa’s main and favorite reindeer, and he has a reason to be proud of his wonderful nose.”


May, in fact, outlined the story of his childhood - he also had problems communicating with his peers. It is curious that the customers were dissatisfied with May’s creation and for a long time refused to print Rudolph’s story. So May's boss was worried that a red nose, as a traditional attribute of an alcoholic, would not be suitable for a Christmas fairy tale. However, in 1939, May's poems about Rudolph sold 500 thousand copies. Subsequently, circulations became multimillion-dollar.

The deer's popularity grew even more in 1949, when May's friend (according to another version, relative) Johnny Marks set the poem to music, and the resulting song was performed by singer Gene Autry. Subsequently, Rudolf's story was translated into 25 languages ​​of the world. Since 1964, American television channels have traditionally shown films and cartoons about Rudolph on Christmas Eve.

Reindeer is Santa Claus's kind and faithful assistant. But there is one feature unique to the Reindeer genus that has allowed scientists to question the gender of Santa's reindeer.

Deer of this species live in Alaska, Canada, northern Russia and Scandinavia.

These are very calm and quiet animals. Santa doesn't have to worry about them waking up the children - only their bell can give away the reindeer's presence.

Reindeer make sounds only in certain cases.

In the summer, the female communicates with the cubs in the first 2 months after their birth, and the males call in the fall during the mating season.

To do this, males have a special pouch on their neck that allows them to make throaty, hoarse sounds or call signs to attract females.

Caribou is another name for these deer.

Only reindeer are usually called domesticated animals that pull sleighs or graze in herds.

They are shorter than their wild relatives and live in Siberia and Scandinavia.

The size of caribou is small, height at the withers is up to 1 meter, and weight is about 170 kg for males and 90 kg for females.

Santa's reindeer are really fast, capable of reaching speeds of up to 80 km/h.

These are very hardy animals and hold the record among terrestrial mammals in terms of travel distance. Caribou are able to travel up to 5 thousand kilometers per year. They can only compete with the humpback whale, which swims about 8.

Their bodies are covered with matted thick fur, which helps protect them from severe frosts and winds in the tundra.

In addition, their circulatory system is designed to more efficiently transfer heat from the body to the extremities.

Reindeer are the only species of deer in which males lose their antlers at the beginning of December, when the mating season ends. And females wear them until spring in order to recapture their territory and food from others.

In addition, by the end of December, males lose subcutaneous fat, only 5% remains, while females, on the contrary, accumulate up to 50%, which allows them to safely endure severe frosts, up to 43 degrees.

Although, male reindeer can still keep antlers on their heads all winter, but under the condition: either they are very young deer, whose antlers have only grown for the first year, or they are adult, but castrated deer. This is a fairly common practice, as these reindeer are easier to train to the harness.

Probably due to their speed, resistance to frost and beautiful antlers, Santa chose reindeer for himself. And in his harness he still has both males (Rudolph, Dancer, Dasher, Prancer, Cupid, etc.) and a female Winser. Happy New Year and Christmas!

A popular children's poem was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823. "Christmas Eve", in which the names of Santa's reindeer are given for the first time.

Christmas Eve.

Christmas is just around the corner. Even the nimble mouse does not dare to disturb the midnight silence. A flock of children's stockings, as usual, decorously waits for Santa Claus on the fireplace grate. The children in their cozy and warm beds dream of sugar snow and a marmalade moon. I pulled my cap down, and my mother put on her cap - After all, it’s time for adults to take a nap, finally. Suddenly there was a roar and a stomp and an utter noise. And the roof responded with an answering roar. The dream instantly disappeared, as if it had never happened! Who would fall asleep? I opened the shutters and opened the window. Playing a staring contest with the sparkling snow, the Moon illuminated with a pure radiance (I stood frozen at the window in amazement) A sleigh from a fairy tale and 8 deer. For the coachman, a lively, dashing old man Yes, yes - it’s Santa! And who else could overtake the eagles in a tiny sleigh and shout loudly to the cheerful reindeer: Hey, Fast! Dancer! Hey, Savage! Hey, Horse! Cupid And Comet! Hey, Storm And Typhoon! Live on the porch and fly up to the attic! Give it to me! Drive at full speed! There was a rumbling sound on the roof, fabulous, ringing hooves. Hurry, hurry to the fireplace! And then... Our Santa slid straight down the chimney! Without saying a word, he got down to business - skillfully filling the stockings by the fireplace. He nodded, pressed his chubby finger to his nose - they say, be quiet! Shut up! ...and disappeared in the fireplace! His deafening whistle rang out. And 8 deer flew up like birds. Only the wind brought the words to me: “Merry Christmas to all of you!” I'll come back! Good night!

Names of Santa's reindeer.

In 2000, it was proven that the original poem was written by Henry Livingstone in 1807 and was named after the visit of St. Nicholas. And Moore was sent this poem much later. He made many changes to the poem over the years. This explains the different spellings and translations of reindeer names.
Do you know Santa's reindeer names And how many reindeer are carrying Santa Claus Today?

So, initially Santa Claus had 8 reindeer:

1 deer. Dasher - Dasher (Awesome) was born many years ago at the North Pole. He was named Dasher (Awesome) because he always wanted to race other reindeer. Every day he wanted to have a race, and this pissed off the other reindeer. Descher knows that if the kids have been good this year, he'll have to hand out more toys than ever before. Descher is also responsible for cleaning and waxing Santa's sleigh. He is always very busy doing chores.

2 deer. Dancer - Dancer (Dancer) was born at the North Pole many years ago. Santa named him Dancer because when he was a tiny reindeer, the only thing he wanted to do was dance. And he danced every night in front of the other reindeer. The dancer was so good that Santa even wanted him to perform on Broadway. But Dancer refused because he understood that Santa needed him to pull his team. Now the Dancer is performing at the North Pole for Santa's elves. He usually gathers a full audience for his performance.

3 deer. Prancer - Prancer (Prancing). This deer is responsible for all the fun and entertainment. He himself loves hide and seek. But the reindeer must be very careful when playing this game in the forest in summer. Because summer is hunting season. Last year Blitzen (Lightning) was caught in a trap and needed three months to recover. The Prancer (Prancing) is also responsible for the films shown on Friday evenings. He makes huge amounts of popcorn and chocolate for his friends.

4 deer. Vixen - Vixen (Fox)- was also born at the North Pole many years ago. She is in love with Cupid and hopes to marry him. The fox is known for its love of cleanliness. She keeps her eyes on the reindeer, especially when they are playing. She watches Blitzen more than others, as he loves to play football in the mud. The fox must make sure that the reindeer groom their fur and polish their hooves. She forces them to take a bath every night, which the deer don't like very much. Most deer hide from the Fox when she approaches them with a brush in her hands, wanting to clean them. But, there is one deer who does not pay attention to this, because he is in love with the Fox. And this deer is Cupid.

5 deer. Cupid -Cupid (Cupid)- was born on Valentine's Day. Santa named him Cupid because he is always trying to get all the reindeer on a date. He tries very hard to help the deer find a mate. So he started publishing a newspaper called Cupid's Times. Some of his friends help him and work at the newspaper. Blitzen works in the office, Comet prints the newspaper, and Rudolph helps distribute it. The newspaper costs $25 and can be purchased at any store in the North Pole.

6 deer. Comet - Comet. This deer was named after Comet Blorius, which appeared in the sky many years ago. The comet was so bright that it illuminated the entire North Pole at night. Comet's teacher says he is the smartest student he has ever taught. Comet receives only excellent marks in all subjects. And this is the first reindeer on the list of honors. Comet's parents and Santa are very proud of this smart reindeer's success. When Comet grows up, she wants to become a teacher and pass on her knowledge to other students.


7 deer. Donder - Donder, Donner or Dander (Thunder)- is responsible for feeding the reindeer and making sure they stay in good shape. Every year on November 8th, Donder opens a reindeer training camp. At this camp, more than 200 reindeer are tested to earn a place on Santa's team. Donder leads the intensive training sessions. Every day, the reindeer lift weights for two hours, then run 50 miles and do 500 push-ups. Donder opened the camp in 1961 because Comet and Cupid were so out of shape after the summer that they could not pull Santa's sleigh and temporarily lost their place in the team to the other reindeer that year, Ralph and Rodney. No one even guessed about the substitution then. Now they are working diligently together with their friends - the reindeer, helping Santa.

8 deer. Blitzen - Blitze or Bliksem (Lightning) born at the North Pole. Santa named him Blitzen because the reindeer reminded him of himself when he played football in high school. Santa's defense team always bombed the opponents' goal. And for this they were nicknamed Blitzers. Blitzer truly lives up to his name, as Santa and his sleigh and team encounter a snowstorm almost every Christmas Eve. And then Blitzen takes control - he takes over the reins and pulls the reindeer through the snowstorm.

Rudolph the Reindeer.

9 deer - Rudolph- Rudolph- the youngest of the deer. He is 100 years younger than his friends. But, nevertheless, now this is the most famous deer in the entire team of Santa Claus. It appeared only in 1939. Copywriter Robert May came up with Rudolph the reindeer, who has a big, red, glowing nose. When Rudolf was young, he had a very difficult time. The rest of Santa's reindeer teased and mocked Rudolph, and no one wanted to play or be friends with him. Even Rudolph's dad and mom were ashamed of such a son. He did everything he could to make his nose stop burning, but nothing helped. Rudolf suffered greatly from this. But one Christmas Eve it was so warm that fog covered the entire North Pole. At this time, Santa, as always, was delivering gifts. The fog was so thick and heavy that Santa got lost and was already afraid that Christmas was in jeopardy, since he would not be able to deliver gifts to the children. And here Rudolph came to the rescue. His red nose shone like a lantern and Santa was able to lead the team through the fog and distribute the gifts. So Rudolph the reindeer's red nose helped guide Santa's sleigh through the fog and save Christmas!
Since then, Rudolph has been Santa's favorite reindeer. Rudolph now leads the reindeer team and is very proud of his red, shiny nose.