Santa Claus & Reindeer
Santa Claus's reindeer form an imaginary team of flying reindeer traditionally held to pull the sleigh of Santa Claus and help him deliver Christmas gifts. The commonly cited names of the reindeer are Dasher (Стремительный), Dancer (Танцор), Prancer (Гарцующий), Vixen (Сварливая), Comet (Комета), Cupid (Купидон), Donder ( нем. Гром) and Blitzen (нем. Молния). They are based on those used in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called "The Night Before Christmas"), which is arguably the basis of reindeer's popularity as Christmas symbols, and in which Donder and Blitzen were originally called Dunderand and Blixem respectively.
Dasher was born many years ago at the North Pole. He was named Dasher because he always wanted to race the other reindeer. Every day he would insist on having a race. This used to drive the other reindeer crazy. Dasher is in charge of cleaning and waxing Santa's sleigh and making sure that all of the directional radar is working correctly. He has been very busy doing these very important chores.
Dancer was born at the North Pole many years ago. Santa named him Dancer because when he was a tiny reindeer all he wanted to do was dance. He used to put on a dance recital every night for the other reindeer. The sound of his hoofs hitting the stage was like Fred Astaire's tap shoes. Dancer was so good that Santa wanted him to go on Broadway, but he refused because he really, really wanted to pull Santa's sleigh. These days Dancer performs nightly at the North Pole Auditorium for Santa's elves. He usually has a sell out crowd, so if you ever plan a visit to the North Pole, make sure you buy tickets before you come!
Prancer is in charge of all the fun and activities. His favorite is hide and seek. The reindeer must be very careful playing this game in the woods during summer because it is hunting season then. Last year Blitzen got shot in the rear end, and it took him 3 months to recover. Prancer is also in charge of Friday night movies; he makes large bowls of popcorn for his friends and always has lots of chocolate for them.
Vixen was born at the North Pole many years ago. She has a major crush on Cupid and hopes one day to marry him. Vixen is well known for her cleanliness. She has to keep her eyes on the reindeer all the time, especially when they are playing. More than the others, she has to watch Blitzen because he always plays football in the mud. Vixen makes sure that the reindeer brush their fur and that their hoofs are polished. She makes them take a bath every night, and not to the reindeer’s delight. As you might expect, most of the reindeer hide from Vixen because she walks around with a brush in her hand always wanting to use it on them. But there is one reindeer who doesn’t mind and that is Cupid, because Cupid also has a major crush on Vixen.
Comet was named after the Comet Blorouis which appeared in the sky many years ago. The comet was so bright that it lit up the North Pole at night.Comet’s teacher in Reindeer School says he is the brightest student she has ever taught. He gets straight A’s in every subject. He will become the first reindeer to make the Honor Roll. He has made his parents and Santa so proud this year. When he grows up he wants to be a teacher so he can pass on all of his knowledge.
Cupid was born on Valentine’s Day. Santa decided to call him Cupid because he was always trying to set up dates for all the reindeer. Cupid was so eager to find matches for all his reindeer friends that he started his own newspaper called "The Cupid Times". Several of these friends help him at the newspaper. Blitzen works in the office, Comet prints the newspapers and his old pal Rudolph delivers them. The papers cost 25¢ and can be found at any store at the North Pole.
Donder is in charge of the reindeers eating habits. He needs to make sure they all stay in shape. Donder starts a training camp every year on Nov. 8 at which over 200 reindeer try out for a spot on Santa's team.Last year Vixen got too heavy during the summer and almost lost her spot to a rookie. But with hard work at training camp, she was able to keep her spot on Santa's team.
Donder runs a tough training camp. Every day he has the reindeer lift weights for 2 hours, run 50 miles and do 500 push-ups. Donder started this training camp back in 1961 because Comet and Cupid were so out of shape at the end of the summer that they couldn’t pull Santa's sleigh and lost their spots that year to two other reindeer: Ralph and Rodney. No one knows about the swap so don't tell.
Blitzen was born at the North Pole. Santa named her Blitzen because she reminded Santa of himself when he played football in high school. Santa’s defense team used to blitz the offense so much they called them the “Blitzers”! Well, Blitzen lives up to her name because almost every Christmas Eve Santa and his sleigh run into a blizzard and guess what happens? Blitzen takes the reins and pulls the reindeer through the stormy weather.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The enduring popularity of the Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has led to Rudolph often joining the list.
The 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") is largely credited for the contemporary Christmas lore that includes the eight flying reindeer and their names.
Rudolph was born at the North Pole many years ago. As we all know, he is the most famous reindeer of all. When Rudolph was young he had a very hard time playing with the other reindeer. None of them would let him join in any of the reindeer games because of his shiny nose. This made Rudolph extremely sad. He tried countless things to keep his nose from glowing but nothing worked. One Christmas Eve, it was so warm that the fog started to roll in at the North Pole. It was so heavy and thick you could not see your hand in front of your face. Santa thought he might have to cancel his Christmas trip when he had an idea. Maybe he could use Rudolph’s nose to guide him through the fog. So it happened that Rudolph led the team of reindeer that night and has been there ever since.
There is another version ...
Rudolph's story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939, and published as a book to be given to children in the store at Christmas time. According to this story, Rudolph's glowing red nose made him a social outcast among the other reindeer. However, one Christmas Eve Santa Claus was having a lot of difficulty making this flight around the world because it was too foggy. When Santa went to Rudolph's house to deliver his presents he noticed the glowing red nose in the darkened bedroom and decided it could be a makeshift lamp to guide his sleigh. He asked Rudolph to lead the sleigh for the rest of the night, Rudolph accepted and returned home a hero for having helped Santa Claus.
Rudolph's story is a popular Christmas story that has been retold in numerous forms, most notably a popular song, a television special, which departed significantly from Robert L. May's original story, in having Rudolph being Donner's son and living amongst Santa Claus' reindeer from birth, and a feature film. In 1998, another film called Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie was released with Rudolph's father as Blitzen.
