Among the most outstanding Christmas stories we find Santa Claus (or Santa Claus), a character who lives in the North Pole and who receives letters from all the children in the world to finally decide if gives them candy or coal. But when did this tradition start? Who is Santa Claus? And why did he choose reindeer and not horses to deliver the gifts to the children?
On our site we want to revive the legend a bit and try to understand the meaning of the reindeer at ChristmasWe do not want to demystify anything, but we do want to get to know these noble animals that will work on December 24. Read on and find out all about Christmas reindeer!
Santa Claus, the protagonist
Papá Noel, Santa Claus, San Nicolás… Throughout the world he is known by different names, but the story is always the same:
In the 4th century a boy named Nicholas of Bariwas born in a city in present-day Turkey. He was known from childhood for his kindness and generosity towards poor or disadvantaged children, considering that he had been born into a very we althy family. At the age of 19, he loses his parents and inherits a large fortune that he decides to donate to the most needy and leave with his uncle towards the path of the priesthood.
Nicolas died on December 6, 345 and due to the proximity of Christmas, it was decided that this saint was the perfect image to distribute gifts and sweets to children. He was named patron saint of Greece, Turkey and Russia.
The name of Santa Claus comes from the German name by which Saint Nikolaus is recognized. The tradition was growing in Europe around the twelfth century. But arriving at the year 1823, an English writer, Clement Moore, wrote the famous poem " A visit from Saint Nicholas " where he perfectly describes Santa Claus who crossed the skies on a sleigh pulled by his nine reindeer to deliver the gifts on time.
But the United States was not far behind, in 1931 it commissioned a famous brand of soft drinks to make a caricature of this older man, represented with red clothes, a belt and black boots.
Today, the story focuses on a Santa Claus who lives in the North Pole with his wife and a group of elves who make toys throughout the year. When the night of the 24th arrives, Santa Claus puts all the toys in a sack and rides his sleigh to deliver the gifts to each Christmas tree.
Reindeer at Christmas, more than just a symbol
To know the meaning of the reindeer at Christmas, we must continue researching about these magical creatures that drag Santa's sleigh They have magical powers and are flying. They are born thanks to the poem that we named earlier by the writer Moore who only gave life to eight of them: the four on the left are females (Comet, Acrobat, Thunder, Brioso) and the four on the right are males (Cupid, Lightning, Dancer, Playful).
In 1939, after the story by Robert L. Mays en titled "Christmas Story", the ninth reindeer called Rudolph (Rodolfo) comes to life and will be placed at the beginning of the sleigh and colored white. But his story would be closely linked to a Scandinavian legend where the God Odin had an 8-legged white horse that carried Santa Claus with his assistant, Black Peter, to distribute the gifts. The stories merged and the 8 reindeer were born. It is also said that elves are in charge of caring for and feeding the reindeer. They divide the time between gifts and reindeer.
Although we say they are magical creatures, that fly, they are also flesh and blood animals, magical, but they don't fly. They are of vital importance in Arctic towns where they carry out the most diverse tasks. They are part of indigenous communities and work together to keep them warm and connected to the rest of the world.
They are part of the deer family, with thick, thick fur to cope with low temperatures. They are migratory animals that live in herds and when the great cold begins they can migrate up to 5,000km. They currently live in the Arctic, North America, Russia, Norway and Sweden.
They are peaceful animals that feed in the wild on herbs, mushrooms, tree bark, etc. They are basically ruminants, like cows or sheep. They have an excellent sense of smell since living in areas where their food is buried under heavy layers of snow, they must have a way to find it. They are prey and their main enemies are wolves, golden eagles, lynxes, bears and… humans. I think that this brief summary makes us know a little more about these beautiful animals that, almost unintentionally, are the protagonists of every beautiful Christmas.
