Do you know the names of all Santa's reindeer?

Old Santeclaus with much delight

His reindeer drives this frosty night.

O'er chimneytops, and tracks of snow,

To bring his yearly gifts to you.

The reindeer which pull Santa’s sleigh are thought to have come from a poem from 1823 by Clement C. Moore "A Visit From St Nicholas". It is more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas. The names of the magical flying animals are:

1. Dasher

2. Dancer.

3. Prancer

4. Vixen

5. Comet

6. Cupid

7. Donner (or Donder)

8. Blitzen

9. Rudolph

Originally, Santa had eight reindeer. And then Rudolph came along. So now he has nine. Rudolph’s story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939.

Magic Reindeer food

In order for Santa to find your house easier, how about sprinkling the lawn with a little Magical Reindeer food.

Magic Reindeer Food Recipe:
- 1/4 cup dry oats
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- handful of green sugar sprinkles

You can add this poem to the outside of the bag or jar:

Make a wish and close your eyes tight,

Then sprinkle on your lawn at night.

As Santa's reindeer fly and roam,

This food will guide them to your home.

For your gift to the reindeer, and Rudolph, too,

Your wish may be real,

your dreams may come true!

The story of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Reindeer posts are very popular judging by my readers' post visits, I therefore decided to dig up the history of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer to share with you. Listen up because it IS a story worth telling!

The Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company, department store operators, had been purchasing and distributing children’s coloring books as Christmas gifts for their customers for several years. In 1939, Montgomery Ward tapped one of their own employees to create a book for them, thus saving money. 34-year old copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939, and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. Despite the wartime paper shortage, over 6 million copies had been distributed by 1946.

May drew in part on the story “The Ugly Duckling” and in part from his own experiences as an often taunted, small, frail youth to create the story of the misfit reindeer. Though Rollo and Reginald were considered, May settled on Rudolph as his reindeer’s name.

Writing in verse as a series of rhyming couplets, May tested the story as he went along on his 4-year old daughter Barbara, who loved the story

Sadly, Robert Mays wife died around the time he was creating Rudolph, leaving Mays deeply in debt due to medical bills. However, he was able to persuade Sewell Avery, Montgomery Ward’s corporate president, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947, thus ensuring May’s financial security.

May’s story “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was printed commercially in 1947 and in 1948 a nine-minute cartoon of the story was shown in theaters. When May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, the Rudolph phenomenon was born. Turned down by many musical artists afraid to contend with the legend of Santa Claus, the song was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 at the urging of Autry’s wife.

The song sold two million copies that year, going on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time, second only to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”. The 1964 television special about Rudolph, narrated by Burl Ives, remains a holiday favorite to this day and Rudolph himself has become a much-loved Christmas icon.

Do you know the names of Santa's reindeer?

How many reindeer are pulling Santa's sleigh? Do you know the names of all Santa's reindeer?

Originally, Santa had eight reindeer. And then Rudolph came along. So now he has nine. These are their names:

1. Dasher

2. Dancer

3. Prancer

4. Vixen

5. Comet

6. Cupid

7. Donner (or Donder)

8. Blitzen

9. Rudolph

7 facts about Santa's reindeer

Eight little reindeer beside Santa's sleigh, 


Getting hitched up - to be on their way.

The first one said, "We can't be late,"


The second one said, "Christmas won't wait."


The third one said, 'The sleigh's full of toys....."


The fourth one said, "For all the girls and boys."


The fifth one said, '"I'm ready to fly...."

The sixth one said, "Across the evening sky."

The seventh one said, "Look, it's starting to snow."

The eighth one said, "I think it's time to go."

"
Ready?" asked Santa. "It's almost Christmas Day."

And off they all flew - - up, up, and away!

One of my most popular posts around Christmas is: How many reeindeer does Santa have?
I therefore decided to come up with some more fun facts on reindeer.

1.) The names of Santa's reindeer are from the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas," written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823.

2.) Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzer, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrati.

3.) 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 his 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.

4.) Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.

5.) Reindeer have large hooves that spread apart as they walk on the snow. They act like snowshoes and prevent the reindeer from sinking in the snow! Have you ever tried walking with snowshoes?  These special hooves also help them look for food beneath the snow.  The tendons in their hooves create a clicking sound when they walk.

6.) Reindeer have an excellent sense of smell. Because food is scarce in the Arctic, reindeer use their great sense of smell to detect food buried deep beneath the snow.

7.) Reindeer are excellent swimmers.

How many reindeer does Santa have?

Do you know the names of all Santa's reindeer? 

Originally, Santa had eight reindeer. And then Rudolph came along. So now he has nine. 

These are their names:

1. Dasher

2. Dancer

3. Prancer

4. Vixen

5. Comet

6. Cupid

7. Donner (or Donder)

8. Blitzen

9. Rudolph