SANTA CLAUS AND REINDEER

The Reindeer or Caribou was the last animal to be domesticated and this is thought to have taken place 3000-7000 years ago.  However, we cannot be really certain of this.  We are dealing with times before recorded history.

The Naskapi Indians of Canada believed the Reindeer had a sort of headquarters called Caribou House, surrounded by cast-off antlers.  The Caribou House was the residence of a being called the Caribou Master, a human who had married a doe and been transformed

into a caribou.

The names usually given to Santa's reindeer come from a poem The Night Before Christmas (1823).  Though often ascribed to Clement C. Moore, some doubt remains about the authorship.  In this the deer are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Cupid, Comet, Donner and Blitzen.

The character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented by Robert L. May (1901-76).  The song was released by Gene Autry in 1949.