While travelling around the world, Santa is always depicted to be guided by his nine reindeer, but people have only just learned one fact that has changed the way they view the magical flying animals
People have been left baffled after learning one lesser-known detail about Father Christmas’ nine reindeer that’s changed the way they see them. In traditional Western festive legend and popular culture, nine reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children during the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
While various legends offer differing details, the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas has proved the most enduring, as it names Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, as the eight reindeers. A ninth, known as Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, joined the team later in 1939 following the popularity of the song of the same name.
Together, they have often been depicted pulling Santa’s sleigh on the night before Christmas to deliver toys to children all over the world, with Rudolph leading the way on foggy nights, shining the way with his “nose so bright”.
However, these depictions have also unknowingly revealed another detail about the reindeer that many might not know. Taking to TikTok, one woman named Pandora Dewan, who often makes science-focused videos, revealed that the fact that all the reindeer have a pair of big antlers means they’re actually all female.
“Santa’s reindeer are probably all female,” she said at the start of her video. She continued to explain that, while both male and female reindeer have antlers, male reindeer shed theirs at the start of December, after mating season has ended. Females usually keep theirs until their calves are born in the spring.
Are Santa’s reindeer really female?
Yes, scientific evidence suggests Santa’s reindeer are actually female. This is because male reindeer lose their antlers after the December mating season, while females keep theirs through winter, meaning the ones shown pulling Father Christmas’ sleigh through the night skies on Christmas Eve must be female.
However, some theories suggest castrated males, called steers, could also fit, although these are less common.
Pandora also explained in her video that female reindeer also have higher fat-to-body-mass ratios at the end of December, providing better insulation for cold conditions while giving them more energy, making them practical for the job. Pulling a magic sleigh through the sky must be hard work, after all.
Meanwhile, male reindeer use up their energy reserve during mating season, leaving them with less fat and energy than the females at the same time of year.
Most of the names of the original reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen) don’t inherently point to gender, although Vixen is the name for a female, suggesting at least one of Santa’s trusty sidekicks is female.
While Rudolph is usually depicted as male, and is referred to as “him” in the iconic song, scientifically he would fit the female profile if he had antlers during Christmas.
Several people soon took to the comment section of Pandora’s video to share their thoughts, as many were baffled by the news.
“Obsessed,” one person said, while a second viewer wrote: “I’m here for this!”
Someone else said: “I mean they are called names like Donner, Dancer, Prancer, and VIXEN.”
0 Comments