Recently I had a childhood myth busted (at 71, can you believe!!). All these years of leaving a carrot out for Rudolph, only to discover last month that he can’t eat them. As a 2018 estimate showed that Santa is due to receive some 3,000 tonnes of carrots per year, I assume then, that Mrs Claus has a recipe book similar to the one that many of us mere mortals own – “100 ways to use up left-over Christmas Turkey” – only hers has recipes for how to use up extra carrot supplies 100 different ways. After all, you can only build so many snowmen to use up your extra stock for noses!!!
A few basic facts about these well-known beasts:
- Also known as caribou in North America, these deer, who inhabit the Arctic tundra, can live up to 15 to 20 years in the wild and are the only deer species in which both the female and the male grow antlers.
- Similar to other ruminants, reindeer do not have a top row of teeth so have a problem chewing up carrots. Their preferred food is a lichen, a moss-like plant found in high, open spaces.
They have been hunted for thousands of years and supply us with meat, milk, fur and antlers which can be formed into tools. - They spend up to 40% of their lives in the snow and have developed special adaptations to help them survive the chilly conditions such as cloven hooves which spread their weight and help them stand on snow and soft ground. Their fur is hollow, so traps heat and they have tiny veins around their noses which circulate warm blood to heat up the air they breathe. Hence the concept of Rudolph!
It was the 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore “A Visit From St Nicholas” (also known as “T’was the Night Before Christmas”) which is credited for the modern lore that Santa’s sleigh was pulled by 8 reindeer. In this they are named (as we still know today) as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blixem (originally as Blitzen but with spelling changed to rhyme with Vixen!).
Rudolph was a latecomer to the team – created in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939 and published as a book to be given to children at Christmas time.
Based on his story, May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, then composed the song we all know today “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Gene Autry’s recording of the song hit number one in the UK charts in the week of Christmas 1949.
Take care and stay safe
LR
