“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, Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!

Now Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

A Visit from St Nicholas,
Clement C. Moore

We all know Dasher and Dancer

And team members Prancer and Vixen

We all know Comet and Cupid

And team members Donner and Blitzen

And of course we all know their leader

Rudolph the very Red Nosed Reindeer

But old Santa is a most clever fellow

And he’s tricked far too many of us I fear

In the very intriguing world of Mother Nature

Female reindeer retain their antlers each winter

But every male reindeer sheds his every autumn

So all of them - including Rudolph – are female deer

Could our Jolly old Saint Nick

Have really been ahead of his time

Giving only females this important duty

Or could this really be - a gender bias crime?

Can our bruised male egos now accept the raw truth

That while female reindeer diligently pull Santa’s sleigh

The now truly embarrassed male reindeer all stay at home

Helping Mrs. Claus bake her Christmas cookies all day?

Hmm…

But don’t dismay my many male friends

Baking Christmas cookies can truly be fun

Oops pardon me I really have to run now

My latest batch now appears to be done

So this now domesticated male quickly dashed away

To the very large oven in his festively decorated home

Savoring the delicious smell of his Christmas cookies

And wondering where the heck his wife now did roam

But soon he began to relax as he eventually realized

That she must be out doing his Christmas shopping

Truly hoping she would get him that new microwave

For all the Holiday Corn – that he truly loves popping

©2005, Gingerbread Ed

Reindeers in Nature

These large animals live in northerly climes in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Arctic. In Eurasia and at the North Pole they are called reindeer, and in North America they are more commonly referred to as ‘caribou,’ but they are all the same species.

The wild herds of Alaska and Canada are known for their massive migrations, while large numbers of them in Eurasia are domesticated, raised for fur, meat, milk, and as work animals. But whether you call them reindeer or caribou, they’re definitely physically well suited to pull a sleigh full of toys and a very crafty old elf.

And in most species of deer, the females don’t have any antlers at all; but this isn’t the case with reindeer.  Both males and females sport massive antlers in the spring and summer; but, unbelievably, the males shed their antlers each and every fall, while the female reindeer all strut around very proudly with their enormous racks – all winter long.

Must be tough being a male reindeer in the winter time.

And this might also explain why Grandma got run over by these reindeer; no self respecting male would run down a poor defenseless Granny, especially on Christmas Eve.

And I really wonder what Rudolph’s real name is…