Why Reindeer?

Gaby Acevedo, Staff Writer|January 10, 2019

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The holidays include so many different traditions celebrated all over the world.  These traditions include all of the popular animals people see this time of year. But, has anyone ever wondered why these animals are associated with the holidays?

 

Doves

In the Christian faith, doves represent purity, peace, love and the Holy Spirit.  These are all very important concepts and a part of the Christian faith and especially so during the Christmas season.  Christmas is a time of joy and love and family, and most importantly, for Christians, a time to remember and celebrate the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ.  The Spirit of God is represented as a dove in Matthew 3:16, which states, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him”  (NKJV Bible). The Spirit of God, also known as the Holy Spirit, takes the form of a dove, and because of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, can also be represented as a dove.  While on Earth, Jesus never sinned and therefore was considered pure, like a dove.

 

Donkey

The association of the donkey with Christmas begins right before the birth of Jesus Christ.  After the Virgin Mary discovers she is pregnant, she marries Joseph and they prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ.  However, a nationwide census is called for and everyone must return to the cities they were born in to be counted. This means that Mary and Joseph must travel to Bethlehem when Mary is nine months pregnant.  Being nine months pregnant, Mary could not walk the one hundred miles to Bethlehem, in order to solve this problem, Joseph brought along a donkey to carry their few belongings and for Mary to sit and rest on when she could no longer walk.

 

Camels

If anyone is familiar with the Nativity scene, then you know that there are three kings standing beside the manger that Baby Jesus lies in.  These three kings studied the prophecies that predicted the birth of a Savior in the City of David, Bethlehem. For years, they waited for the day He would finally come to this Earth as a baby.  The three kings traveled from far and wide through the desert, following the Star of David that would lead them to the place where the Baby Savior lay. These three kings used camels throughout this long and difficult journey in order to finally be able to lay eyes on their Savior.

 

Lamb

There are a couple reasons as to why lambs are associated with Christmas.  Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and in the Bible Jesus Christ is referred to as the Lamb of God.  The first time Jesus Christ is referred to as the Lamb of God was in John 1:29, which states, “The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (NKJV Bible).  The Christmas holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and he is referred to as the Lamb of God multiple times in the Bible. Another, reason for the association of lambs with the Christmas holiday also has to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.  In the Nativity scene, there are a group of shepherds who come to visit Baby Jesus. The shepherds had been in a field with their flock of sheep, when an Angel appeared and told them the glorious news, that the Savior had been born in the City of David, Bethlehem.  After a chorus of angels sang for them, the shepherds gathered their flock and went to go see the Baby Jesus lying in a manger. In a traditional Nativity scene, there are the shepherds and their flock all around the stables in which Baby Jesus was born.

 

Reindeer

For as long as most can remember, reindeer have been the face of Christmas, along with Santa Claus and his sleigh and sack of toys.  The real question is, of all animals, why are reindeer Santa Claus’ chosen animal?

 

The deer species of Reindeer, also known as the Caribu, are native to the Arctic and are accustomed to the cold, winter weather.  Because the reindeer are well-adapted to the rough winter weather, they are the perfect animal to symbolize the winter season — the season most associated with Christmas.  In Eastern Europe, reindeer were a very popular animal. They were domesticated and used to pull sleighs and sleds as a mode of transportation for people in the part of Europe throughout the snowy, winter season.

 

However, Reindeer are fairly new to the Christmas tradition. The first time Reindeer are mentioned with the Christmas season was in 1821, in a book called, A New Year’s Present, by an anonymous American author, printed by New York printer, William Gilley.  Over the course of the nineteenth century, reindeer have slowly been integrated into the Christmas tradition.  In 1823, the poem A Visit From Santa Claus, commonly known as, Twas the Night Before Christmas, written by Clement Clarke Moore, and featured reindeer, pulling Santa Claus’ sleigh for the first time.  Not only that, but all the reindeer were mentioned by name for the first time in history.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name;
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Dunder and Blixem!
To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall!
Now, dash away, dash away, dash away all!”

 

This is the moment when Santa Claus received his staff of flying reindeer.  The last two reindeer, Dunder and Blixem, are commonly known as Donner and Blitzen today.  Dunder and Blixem, are Dutch for thunder and lightning, but in the nineteenth and twentieth-century publishers began using the German translation, which was Donner and Blitzen.

 

Now, for the most famous reindeer of all, Rudolph!  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 by Robert May.  This story of poor Rudolph became a major hit among children, and by 1949, Johnny Marks wrote the Song, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Between these two pieces, Rudolph was added as Santa Claus’ ninth and most famous reindeer.

 

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