Who Really Named Santa's Reindeer?

Up until 1823, as far as the general public knew, Santa really didn't have a single reindeer nor a sleigh to dash anywhere in. The names Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid first came to the public attention when a poem entitled "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" was published in the December 23, 1823 edition of the Troy Sentinel (New York). The poem was submitted anonymously, and for many years, no one knew who the author really was. The poem became commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas".

An original excerpt from the poem named the reindeer a little differently then we know them today and as a matter of fact, there were only 6 reindeer - not 8:

"Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now!
Prancer, and Vixen,
On! Comet, on! Cupid, on!
Dunder and Blixem;

Dunder and Blixem is a Dutch expression that literally means "thunder and lightning", but was loosely used to express a need to speed things up. The words weren't meant to name 2 more reindeer - they were actually a directive to Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, and Cupid, on a very busy night.

In 1837, a publisher named Charles Fenno Hoffman altered the verse to read "Donder and Blixen" to make it rhyme better with Vixen. At this time, he credited authorship to Professor Clement Clarke Moore of New York's General Theological Seminary. Seven years later, Clement Clarke Moore changed the Dutch words to the German "Donner and Blitzen" ("thunder and lightning"), and since many had thought there were 8 tiny reindeer all along, these became accepted as two more reindeer in Santa's crew.

Descendants of a gentleman named Henry Livingston have made claims that Mr. Livingston was the true author of "A Visit from St. Nicholas". Text analyst, Donald W. Foster, supported this claim. More information on the topic is in his Foster's "Author Unknown: Tales of a Literary Detective." It is often noted that Livingston himself never claimed authorship during his lifetime. He died 5 years after the poem was published.

Rudolph and his shiny nose didn't make his appearance until the 20th century, when in 1938, he was created by Robert L. May, to be used in a promotional booklet for Montgomery Ward stores. The tale of Rudolph's transformation from a victim of reindeer teasing to Santa's sleigh leader caught the public fancy, and Montgomery Ward distributed over 6 million copies of the fanciful story. In 1947, Robert May was compelled to ask Montgomery Ward for distribution rights to his story when his wife's terminal illness put him in enormous debt. May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the tune that continues to captivate children's imaginations to this very day: "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," which was originally recorded in 1949 by The Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry. Gene had previously recorded "Here Comes Santa Claus" in 1947, and this was released as the flip side of Rudolph.

Other reindeer have been created for animated specials. Fireball and Clarice, for instance, become friends of Rudolph in the special by the same name as the song. Olive, known as "the Other Reindeer", is a character created by author J. Otto Seibold and voiced by Drew Barrymore, although she is actually a dog.