The association of reindeer with the celebration
of Christmas is as old as the association of Santa Claus with the
festival. Whenever we think of Santa Claus we think of his sledge
drawn by the reindeers. So the reindeer has come to be associated
with the Christmas riding the tradition of the Santa Claus. Santa is
believed to have from the far away North, what else than a reindeer
drawn sledge can serve as a better carriage? It is man's most
ancient herd animal, the first animals being raised around 15,000
years ago. Up until about 12,000 years ago, reindeer grazed over a
vast area of Europe. Primitive rock paintings suggest that they
exist in large number as there were discoveries of tools made from
reindeer horn. There was even a period of European prehistory in a
part of France called Dordogne that is sometimes called "the
civilization of reindeer." Caribou, the name by which the
Americans are more familiar with reindeer, comes from an Indian
word.
Caribou, the name by which the Americans are more familiar with the
reindeers, comes from an Indian word. It is said that the origin of
reindeers is probably from the stories of the Norse God Woden who
rode through the sky with reindeer and forty-two ghostly huntsmen.
Clement Moore's famous poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (T'was the
Night Before Christmas) sealed the image of Santa Claus, his
reindeer and the magical flying sleigh loaded with sacks of
presents.
