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Reindeer: Santa’s speedy helpers

As the popular Christmas song goes, “Then all the reindeer loved him as they shouted out with glee, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you’ll go down in history!”

It’s not a stretch to say to say that while some may not know the other eight reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem), virtually everyone knows who Rudolph is. With his shiny red nose, Rudolph has become an iconic part of not just Santa Claus’ lore but of the whole holiday celebration as well.

And of course, here in the Philippines, because of our long exposure to western culture, the imagery of Santa’s reindeer has become a deeply embedded aspect of our yuletide festivities.
While reindeer may not be endemic to the Philippines, images of them are plastered across malls, schools, offices, and residences and their silhouettes are used as patterns for Christmas lights and Christmas tree ornaments.

The first mention of a group of reindeer that work alongside Santa Claus was in 1823, when author Clement C. Moore published his poem The night before Christmas, where he said that: “eight tiny rein-deer lend Santa’s sleigh through the night.” In a few western countries, some people traditionally leave carrots outside their houses as a present for Santa’s reindeer.

Rudolph himself was not included in the original incarnation of Santa’s team of reindeer. He was introduced in 1939 in a book written by Robert L. May promoting the Montgomery Ward department store.

The story recounted the experiences of Rudolph, a young male reindeer who had an unusually red nose. Because of this peculiar trait, he was constantly teased and shunned by his peers. However, because of one particularly misty Christmas eve, Rudolph was approached by Santa Claus himself in order to ask the young buck to lead his sleigh for the evening. Rudolph readily agrees and earns not only the approval of his fellow reindeer but also their respect and admiration.

A most probable scientific explanation for Rudolph’s supposed red nose is the incredible ability of reindeer’s noses to warm the air they breath before it gets to their lungs. Moreover, if one should do the calculation for how fast Santa’s fleet of flying reindeer have to be in order to finish their deliveries on Christmas eve (to over 2 billion children worldwide), that speed would be 6.65 million miles per hour (or a little under 1,800 miles per second).

While they may not be seen regularly except in the southern regions of the country, there are three identified species of deer in the Philippines: The Philippine brown deer, the Visayan Spotted Deer, and the Calamian Hog Deer. Unlike their Christmas counterparts, only the male among our local deer sport antler (whereas male and female reindeer have antlers).