| APXALARM/VIVANT ALARM |
| APXALARM/VIVANT ALARM Decetive practice/Unsafe Medical Responce Time. Provo, Utah |
| 25th of May, 2011 by User503244 |
I Apex account was closeing due to company out of service, then hadto sign new contract with this Vivint. then the said I could up date my system, this started a new contract.? why?I had a Medical emergency two times, the responce time was unsafe for my condition, this las time the third was the worst. no one came on fast. then they tuck too much time deciding to dispach emergency help.
then I said get the system out of my home they gave the fluxs with reconnecting to diffent departments. I had to pay 1700 and some dollars to get this account closed. now I am paying for the next 32 months, at a nother address, a frinds home, inorder to go to a better company. Now I spent two days getting them to install. now I am required to send in a request to cancel my account or pay for two systems.?Their in stall Tec even tryed to get the billing corrected over the phone while he was at the install address. these people arnt the best. |
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The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, [1] some of its subspecies are rare and one (or two, depending on taxonomy) has already gone extinct.[2][3]
Reindeer vary considerably in color and size and both sexes grow antlers, though these are larger in the males and there are a few populations where females lack them completely.
Hunting of wild reindeer and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer (for meat, hides, antlers, milk and transportation) is important to several Arctic and Subarctic people.[4] Even far outside its range, the reindeer is well known due to the myth, probably originating in early 19th century America, in which Santa Claus's sleigh is pulled by flying reindeer, a popular secular element of Christmas.[5] In Lapland, reindeer pull pulks.[6]
Contents [hide]
1 Distribution and habitat
2 Morphology
2.1 Size
2.2 Fur
2.3 Antlers
2.4 Nose and hooves
2.5 Vision
3 Ecology and behavior
3.1 Diet
3.2 Reproduction
3.3 Migration
3.4 Predators
4 Subspecies
4.1 Tundra reindeer
4.2 Woodland reindeer
5 Reindeer and humans
5.1 Hunting
5.2 Reindeer husbandry
5.3 Economy
5.4 In history
5.5 Name etymology
5.6 Local names
6 Reindeer in Christmas
6.1 Santa Claus's reindeer
7 Heraldry and symbols
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
10.1 Caribou-specific links (North America)
[edit]Distribution and habitat
Large male reindeer
The reindeer is a widespread and numerous species in the northern Holarctic, being present in both tundra and taiga (boreal forest).[7] Originally, the reindeer was found in Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia, and northern China north of the 50th latitude. In North America, it was found in Canada, Alaska (USA), and the northern conterminous USA from Washington to Maine. In the 19th century, it was apparently still present in southern Idaho.[1] It also occurred naturally on Sakhalin, Greenland, and probably even in historical times in Ireland. During the late Pleistocene era, reindeer were found as far south as Nevada and Tennessee in North America and Spain in Europe.[7][8] Today, wild reindeer have disappeared from many areas within this large historical range, especially from the southern parts, where it vanished almost everywhere. Large populations of wild reindeer are still found in Norway, Finland, Siberia, Greenland, Alaska, and Canada.
Southernmost reindeer: a South Georgian reindeer with velvet-covered antlers
Domesticated reindeer are mostly found in northern Fennoscandia and Russia, with a herd of approximately 150-170 reindeer living around the Cairngorms region in Scotland. The last remaining wild tundra reindeer in Europe are found in portions of southern Norway.[9]
A few reindeer from Norway were introduced to the South Atlantic island of South Georgia in the beginning of the 20th century. The South Georgian reindeer total some 2600 animals in two distinct herds separated by glaciers. Although the flag and the coat of arms of the territory contain an image of a reindeer, they are under threat of eradication because of the environmental damage they cause. Around 4000 reindeer have been introduced into the French sub-Antarctic archipelago of Kerguelen Islands. East Iceland has a small herd of about 2500–3000 animals.[10]
Caribou and reindeer numbers have fluctuated historically, but many herds are in decline across their range.[11] This global decline is linked to climate change for northern, migratory caribou and reindeer herds and industrial disturbance of caribou habitat for sedentary, non-migratory herds.[12]
[edit]Morphology
[edit]Size
The characteristically small and relatively short-legged reindeer from Svalbard
The females usually measure 162–205 cm (64–81 in) in length and weigh 79–120 kg (170–260 lb)[13] The males (or "bulls") are typically larger (although the extent to which varies in the different subspecies), measuring 180–214 cm (71–84 in) in length and usually weighing 92–210 kg (200–460 lb), though exceptionally large males have weighed as much as 318 kg (700 lb).[13] Shoulder height typically measure from 85 to 150 cm (33 to 59 in), and the tail is 14 to 20 cm (5.5 to 7.9 in) long. The subspecies R. t. platyrhynchus from Svalbard island is very small compared to other subspecies (a phenomenon known as insular dwarfism), with females having a length of approximately 150 cm (59 in), and a weight around 53 kg (120 lb) in the spring and 70 kg (150 lb) in the autumn.[14] Males are approximately 160 cm (63 in) long, and weigh around 65 kg (140 lb) in the spring and 90 kg (200 lb) in the autumn.[14] The reindeer from Svalbard are also relatively short-legged and may have a shoulder height of as little as 80 cm (31 in), [14] thereby following Allen's rule.
Domesticated reindeer are shorter-legged and heavier than their wild counterparts.
[edit]Fur
The colour of the fur varies considerably, both individually, and depending on season and subspecies. Northern populations, which usually are relatively small, are whiter, while southern populations, which typically are relatively large, are darker. This can be seen well in North America, where the northermost subspecies, the Peary Caribou, is the whitest and smallest subspecies of the continent, while the southermost subspecies, the Woodland Caribou, is the darkest and largest.[15] The coat has two layers of fur, a dense woolly undercoat and longer-haired overcoat consisting of hollow, air-filled hairs.
[edit]Antlers
Reindeer antlers grow again each year under a layer of fur called velvet. This reindeer is losing the velvet layer on one of its antlers.
In most populations both sexes grow antlers, [16] which (in the Scandinavian variety) for old males fall off in December, for young males in the early spring, and for females in the summer. The antlers typically have two separate groups of points, a lower and upper. There is considerable subspecific variation in the size of the antlers (e.g., rather small and spindly in the northernmost subspecies), [15] but in some subspecies the bull reindeer's antlers are the second largest of any extant deer, after the moose, and can range up to 100 cm (39 in) in width and 135 cm (53 in) in beam length. They have the largest antlers relative to body size among deer.[16]
[edit]Nose and hooves
Reindeer have specialized noses featuring nasal turbinate bones that dramatically increase the surface area within the nostrils. Incoming cold air is warmed by the animal's body heat before entering the lungs, and water is condensed from the expired air and captured before the deer's breath is exhaled, used to moisten dry incoming air and possibly absorbed into the blood through the mucous membranes.
Reindeer hooves adapt to the season: in the summer, when the tundra is soft and wet, the footpads become sponge-like and provide extra traction. In the winter, the pads shrink and tighten, exposing the rim of the hoof, which cuts into the ice and crusted snow to keep it from slipping. This also enables them to dig down (an activity known as "cratering")[17][18] through the snow to their favorite food, a lichen known as reindeer moss. The knees of many species of reindeer are adapted to produce a clicking sound as they walk.[19]
[edit]Vision
Reindeer are thought to be the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light. A study conducted by researchers from the University College London in 2011 revealed that reindeer can see light with wavelengths as low as 320 nm, considerably below the human threshold of 400 nm. It is thought that this ability helps them to survive in the Arctic, because many objects that blend into the landscape in normally visible light, such as urine and fur, produce sharp contrasts in ultraviolet.[20]
[edit]Ecology and behavior
[edit]Diet
Caribou licking salt from roadway in British Columbia
The size of the antlers play a significant role in establishing the hierarchy in the group[7]
A herd of barren-ground caribou at the Thelon River. This subspecies is a long-distance migrant.[15]
Reindeer are ruminants, having a four-chambered stomach. They mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer moss. However, they also eat the leaves of willows and birches, as well as sedges and grasses. There is some evidence to suggest that on occasion, they will also feed on lemmings, [21] arctic char, and bird eggs.[22] Reindeer herded by the Chukchis have been known to devour mushrooms enthusiastically in late summer.[23]
[edit]Reproduction
Mating occurs from late September to early November. Males battle for access to females. Two males will lock each other's antlers together and try to push each other away. The most dominant males can collect as many as 15-20 females to mate with. A male will stop eating during this time and lose much of its body reserves.
Calves may be born the following May or June. After 45 days, the calves are able to graze and forage but continue suckling until the following autumn and become independent from their mothers.
[edit]Migration
Some populations of the North American caribou migrate the furthest of any terrestrial mammal, travelling up to 5, 000 km (3, 100 mi) a year, and covering 1, 000, 000 km2 (390, 000 sq mi).[1][24] Other populations (e.g., in Europe) have a shorter migration, and some, for example the subspecies R. t. pearsoni and R. t. platyrhynchus (both restricted to islands), are residents that only make local movements.
Normally travelling about 19–55 km (12–34 mi) a day while migrating, the caribou can run at speeds of 60–80 km/h (37–50 mph).[1] During the spring migration smaller herds will group together to form larger herds of 50, 000 to 500, 000 animals but during autumn migrations, the groups become smaller, and the reindeer begin to mate. During the winter, reindeer travel to forested areas to forage under the snow. By spring, groups leave their winter grounds to go to the calving grounds. A reindeer can swim easily and quickly, normally at 6.5 km/h (4.0 mph) but if necessary at 10 km/h (6.2 mph), and migrating herds will not hesitate to swim across a large lake or broad river.[1]
[edit]Predators
There are a variety of predators that prey heavily on reindeer. Golden Eagles prey on calves and are the most prolific hunter on calving grounds.[25] Wolverine will take newborn calves or birthing cows, as well as (less commonly) infirm adults. Brown Bears and (in the rare cases where they encounter each other) polar bears prey on reindeer of all ages but (as with the wolverine) are most likely to attack weaker animals such as calves and sick deer. The Gray Wolf is the most effective natural predator of adult reindeer, especially during the winter. As carrion, caribou are fed on by foxes, ravens and hawks. Blood-sucking insects, such as black flies and mosquitoes, are a plague to reindeer during the summer and can cause enough stress to inhibit feeding and calving behaviors.[26] In one case, the entire body of a reindeer was found in a Greenland shark (possibly a case of scavenging), [27] a species found in the far northern Atlantic. The population numbers of some of these predators is influenced by the migration of reindeer. During the Ice Ages, they faced Dire wolves, Cave lions, American lions, Short-faced bears, Cave hyenas, Smilodons, Jaguars, Cougars, and possibly the ground sloth.[citation needed] |
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Subspecies
The Peary Caribou is a relatively small and pale subspecies found in the tundra of far northern North America. Unsurprisingly, it is part of the group known as Tundra reindeer.
Since 1961, reindeer have been divided into two major groups, the tundra reindeer with six subspecies and the woodland reindeer with three subspecies.[citation needed] Among the tundra subspecies are small-bodied, high-Arctic island forms. These island subspecies are probably not closely related, since the Svalbard Reindeer seems to have evolved from large European Reindeer, whereas Peary Caribou and the extinct Arctic Reindeer are closely related and probably evolved in high-Arctic North America.[2]
The following list is partial, as four subspecies which are restricted to Russia and neighbouring regions have been left out. These are R. tarandus buskensis, R. tarandus pearsoni (Novaya Zemlya Reindeer), R. tarandus phylarchus (Kamchatka/Okhotsk Reindeer) and R. tarandus sibiricus (Siberian Tundra Reindeer).[28]
[edit]Tundra reindeer
†Arctic Reindeer (R. tarandus eogroenlandicus), an extinct subspecies found until 1900 in eastern Greenland.
Peary Caribou (R. tarandus pearyi), found in the northern islands of the Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Svalbard Reindeer (R. tarandus platyrhynchus), found on the Svalbard islands of Norway, is the smallest subspecies of reindeer.
Mountain/Wild Reindeer (R. tarandus tarandus), found in the Arctic tundra of Eurasia, including the Fennoscandia peninsula of northern Europe.
Porcupine Caribou or Grant's Caribou (R. tarandus granti), which are found in Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories of Canada. Very similar to R. tarandus groenlandicus, and probably better regarded as a junior synonym of that subspecies.[28][29]
Approximate range of caribou subspecies in North America. Overlap is possible for contiguous range. Subspecies groenlandicus and pearyi mix on some arctic islands, and granti is probably a synonym of groenlandicus. Populations here included in caribou are sometimes divided into four separate subspecies (see text)
Barren-ground Caribou (R. tarandus groenlandicus), found in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada and in western Greenland.
[edit]Woodland reindeer
Finnish Forest Reindeer (R. tarandus fennicus), found in the wild in only two areas of the Fennoscandia peninsula of Northern Europe, in Finnish/Russian Karelia, and a small population in central south Finland. The Karelia population reaches far into Russia, however, so far that it remains an open question whether reindeer further to the east are R. t. fennicus as well.
Migratory Woodland Caribou (R. tarandus caribou), or Forest Caribou, once found in the North American taiga (boreal forest) from Alaska to Newfoundland and Labrador and as far south as New England, Idaho, and Washington. Woodland Caribou have disappeared from most of their original southern range and are considered threatened where they remain, with the notable exception of the Migratory Woodland Caribou of northern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. The name of the Cariboo district of central British Columbia relates to their once-large numbers there, but they have almost vanished from that area in the last century. A herd is protected in the Caribou Mountains in Alberta. The above quoted range includes R. tarandus caboti (Labrador Caribou), R. tarandus osborni (Osborn's Caribou – from British Columbia) and R. tarandus terraenovae (Newfoundland Caribou). Based on a review in 1961, these were considered invalid and included in R. tarandus caribou, but some recent authorities have considered them all valid, even suggesting that they are quite distinct.[28][30] An analysis of mtDNA in 2005 found differences between the caribous from Newfoundland, Labrador, south-western Canada and south-eastern Canada, but maintained all in R. tarandus caribou.[29]
†Queen Charlotte Islands Caribou (R. tarandus dawsoni) from the Queen Charlotte Islands was believed to represent a distinct subspecies. It became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century. However, recent DNA analysis from mitochondrial DNA of the remains from those reindeer suggest that the animals from the Queen Charlotte Islands were not genetically distinct from the Canadian mainland reindeer subspecies.[3]
[edit]Reindeer and humans
[edit]Hunting
Reindeer pulling a sled in Russia
See also: Reindeer hunting in Greenland
Reindeer hunting by humans has a very long history, and caribou/wild reindeer "may well be the species of single greatest importance in the entire anthropological literature on hunting."[4]
Humans started hunting reindeer in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, and humans are today the main predator in many areas. Norway and Greenland have unbroken traditions of hunting wild reindeer from the ice age until the present day. In the non-forested mountains of central Norway, such as Jotunheimen, it is still possible to find remains of stone-built trapping pits, guiding fences, and bow rests, built especially for hunting reindeer. These can, with some certainty, be dated to the Migration Period, although it is not unlikely that they have been in use since the Stone Age.
Norway is now preparing to apply for nomination as a World Heritage Site for areas with traces and traditions of reindeer hunting in Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Reinheimen National Park and Rondane National Park in Central Sør-Norge (Southern Norway). There is in these parts of Norway an unbroken tradition of reindeer hunting from post-glacial stone age until today.
Wild caribou are still hunted in North America and Greenland. In the traditional lifestyle of the Inuit people, Northern First Nations people, Alaska Natives, and the Kalaallit of Greenland, the caribou is an important source of food, clothing, shelter, and tools. Many Gwich?in people, who depend on the Porcupine caribou, still follow traditional caribou management practices that include a prohibition against selling caribou meat and limits on the number of caribou to be taken per hunting trip.[31]
The blood of the caribou was supposedly mixed with alcohol as drink by hunters and loggers in colonial Quebec to counter the cold. This drink is now enjoyed without the blood as a wine and whiskey drink known as Caribou.[32][33]
[edit]Reindeer husbandry
A reindeer sled, Arkhangelsk, Russia. Late nineteenth-century photochrom.
Milking reindeer in the 19th century
Reindeer fur coat
Reindeer have been herded for centuries by several Arctic and Subarctic people including the Sami and the Nenets. They are raised for their meat, hides, antlers and, to a lesser extent, for milk and transportation. Reindeer are not considered fully domesticated, as they generally roam free on pasture grounds. In traditional nomadic herding, reindeer herders migrate with their herds between coast and inland areas according to an annual migration route, and herds are keenly tended. However, reindeer were not bred in captivity, though they were tamed for milking as well as for use as draught animals or beasts of burden.
The use of reindeer as semi-domesticated livestock in Alaska was introduced in the late 19th century by the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, with assistance from Sheldon Jackson, as a means of providing a livelihood for Native peoples there.[34] Reindeer were imported first from Siberia, and later also from Norway. A regular mail run in Wales, Alaska, used a sleigh drawn by reindeer.[35] In Alaska, reindeer herders use satellite telemetry to track their herds, using online maps and databases to chart the herd's progress.
[edit]Economy
The reindeer has (or has had) an important economic role for all circumpolar peoples, including the Saami, Nenets, Khants, Evenks, Yukaghirs, Chukchi, and Koryaks in Eurasia. It is believed that domestication started between the Bronze and Iron Ages. Siberian deer owners also use the reindeer to ride on (Siberian reindeer are larger than their Scandinavian relatives). For breeders, a single owner may own hundreds or even thousands of animals. The numbers of Russian herders have been drastically reduced since the fall of the Soviet Union. The fur and meat is sold, which is an important source of income. Reindeer were introduced into Alaska near the end of the 19th century; they interbreed with native caribou subspecies there. Reindeer herders on the Seward Peninsula have experienced significant losses to their herds from animals (such as wolves) following the wild caribou during their migrations.
Reindeer meat is popular in the Scandinavian countries. Reindeer meatballs are sold canned. Sautéed reindeer is the best-known dish in Lapland. In Alaska and Finland, reindeer sausage is sold in supermarkets and grocery stores. Reindeer meat is very tender and lean. It can be prepared fresh, but also dried, salted, hot- and cold-smoked. In addition to meat, almost all internal organs of reindeer can be eaten, some being traditional dishes.[36] Furthermore, Lapin Poron liha, fresh Reindeer meat completely produced and packed in Finnish Lapland, is protected in Europe with PDO classification.[37][38]
Reindeer antler is powdered and sold as an aphrodisiac, nutritional or medicinal supplement to Asian markets.
Caribou have been a major source of subsistence for Canadian Inuit.
[edit]In history
Both Aristotle and Theophrastus have short accounts - probably based on the same source - of an ox-sized deer species, named tarandos, living in the land of the Bodines in Scythia, which was able to change the colour of its fur to obtain camouflage. The latter is probably a misunderstanding of the seasonal change in reindeer fur colour. The descriptions have been interpreted as being of reindeer living in the southern Ural Mountains at c. 350 BC[39]
A deer-like animal described by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico (chapter 6.26) from the Hercynian Forest in the year 53 BC is most certainly to be interpreted as reindeer:[39][40]
There is an ox shaped like a stag. In the middle of its forehead a single horn grows between its ears, taller and straighter than the animal horns with which we are familiar. At the top this horn spreads out like the palm of a hand or the branches of a tree. The females are of the same form as the males, and their horns are the same shape and size.
According to Olaus Magnus's Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus - printed in Rome in 1555 - Gustav I of Sweden sent 10 reindeer to Albert I, Duke of Prussia, in the year 1533. It may be these animals that Conrad Gessner had seen or heard of.
[edit]Name etymology
The name rangifer, which Linnaeus chose as the name for the reindeer genus, was used by Albertus Magnus in his De animalibus, fol. Liber 22, Cap. 268: "Dicitur Rangyfer quasi ramifer". This word may go back to a Saami word raingo.[39] For the origin of the word tarandus, which Linnaeus chose as the species epithet, he made reference to Ulisse Aldrovandi's Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia fol. 859—863, Cap. 30: De Tarando (1621). However, Aldrovandi - and before him Konrad Gesner[41] - thought that rangifer and tarandus were two separate animals.[42] In any case, the tarandos name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus - see above.
[edit]Local names
The name rein (-deer) is of Norse origin (Old Norse hreinn, which again goes back to Proto-Germanic *hraina and Proto-Indo-European *kroino meaning "horned animal"). In the Uralic languages, Sami poatsu (in Northern Sami boazu, in Lule Sami boatsoj, in Pite Sami båtsoj, in Southern Sami bovtse), Mari pu?? and Udmurt pudžej, all referring to domesticated reindeer, go back to *po?aw, an Iranian loanword deriving from Proto-Indo-European *pe?u-, meaning "cattle". The Finnish name poro may also stem from the same.[43] The name caribou comes, through French, from Mi'kmaq qalipu, meaning "snow shoveler", referring to its habit of pawing through the snow for food.[44] In Inuktitut, the caribou is known by the name tuktu.[45][46] In Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi dialects the caribou is called atihkw. |
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Reindeer in Christmas
Two Scottish reindeer relax after pulling Santa's sleigh at the switching on of Christmas lights
[edit]Santa Claus's reindeer
Main article: Santa Claus's reindeer
In the Santa Claus tale, Santa Claus's sleigh is pulled by flying reindeer. These were first named in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", where they are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem.[47] Dunder was later changed to Donder and—in other works—Donner (in German, "thunder"), and Blixem was later changed to Bliksem, then Blitzen (German for "lightning"). Some consider Rudolph as part of the group as well, though he was not part of the original named work referenced previously. Rudolph was added by Robert L. May in 1939 as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".
According to the British comedy panel game QI, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and all of Santa's other reindeer must be either female or castrated, because male reindeer lose their antlers during winter.
[edit]Heraldry and symbols
The Caribou Monument at the World War I Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
Several Norwegian municipalities have one or more reindeer depicted in their coats-of-arms: Eidfjord, Porsanger, Rendalen, Tromsø, Vadsø, and Vågå. The historic province of Västerbotten in Sweden has a reindeer in its coat of arms. The present Västerbotten County has very different borders and uses the reindeer combined with other symbols in its coat-of-arms. The city of Piteå also has a reindeer. The logo for Umeå University features three reindeer.
The Canadian 25-cent coin, or "quarter" features a depiction of a caribou on one face. The caribou is the official provincial animal of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and appears on the coat of arms of Nunavut. A caribou statue was erected at the center of the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, marking the spot in France where hundreds of soldiers from Newfoundland were killed and wounded in the First World War and there is a replica in Bowring Park, in St. John's, Newfoundland's capital city.
Two municipalities in Finland have reindeer motifs in their coats-of-arms: Kuusamo[48] has a running reindeer and Inari[49] a fish with reindeer antlers. |
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Santa Claus's reindeer are a team of flying reindeer traditionally held to pull the sleigh of Santa Claus and help him deliver Christmas gifts. The commonly cited names of the reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (or Donner), and Blitzen. They are based on those used in the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, arguably the basis of reindeer's popularity as Christmas symbols, where Donder/Donner and Blitzen were originally called Dunder and Blixem respectively.[1][2]
The subsequent popularity of the Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has led to Rudolph often joining the list.
Contents [hide]
1 List of reindeer
1.1 Commonly known names
2 Origins
2.1 The original eight reindeer
2.2 Rudolph (the red-nosed reindeer)
3 Additional reindeer
3.1 Film and television
3.2 Literature and publications
3.3 Music
3.4 Radio
3.5 Stage productions
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
[edit]List of reindeer
[edit]Commonly known names
Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donner (originally Dunder, then Donder)
Blitzen (originally Blixem, then Blixen)
Rudolph (as used in the song Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer)
[edit]Origins
[edit]The original eight reindeer
The poem by Clement C. Moore "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "Twas the Night Before Christmas") is largely credited for the contemporary Christmas lore that includes the eight flying reindeer and their names.[3]
The relevant segment of the poem reads:
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,
with a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:
"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!
"On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!
"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
In An American Anthology, 1787–1900, Edmund Clarence Stedman reprints the 1844 Clement Clarke Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of "Donder and Blitzen, " rather than the original 1823 version using the Dutch spelling, "Dunder and Blixem." [4] Both phrases translate as "Thunder and Lightning" in English, though German for thunder is now spelled Donner, and the Dutch words would nowadays be spelled Donder and Bliksem.
The Christmas Mountains of New Brunswick, Canada are named after the original eight reindeer.
Since this poem, other books, movies, and music have contributed to the Christmas reindeer lore. The 1994 remake of the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, for example, asserts that reindeer can only fly on Christmas Eve.
[edit]Rudolph (the red-nosed reindeer)
Main article: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph's story was originally written 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 in the store at Christmas time.
According to this story, Rudolph's glowing red nose made him a social outcast among the other reindeer. However, one Christmas Eve Santa Claus was having a lot of difficulty making his flight around the world because it was too foggy. When Santa went to Rudolph's house to deliver his presents he noticed the glowing red nose in the darkened bedroom and decided it could be a makeshift lamp to guide his sleigh. He asked Rudolph to lead the sleigh for the rest of the night, Rudolph accepted and returned home a hero for having helped Santa Claus.
Rudolph's story is a popular Christmas story that has been retold in numerous forms, most notably a popular song, a television special, which departed significantly from Robert L. May's original story, in having Rudolph being Donner's son and living amongst Santa Claus' reindeer from birth, and a feature film.
[edit]Additional reindeer
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)
Several literature, television, film and music pieces have made references to other reindeer or other animals who substitute for reindeer. In many cases, these are explicitly related to other reindeer already in the fleet.
[edit]Film and television
The 1964 Rudolph special features Fireball as one of several reindeer trying out for the sleigh team. With fire-red hair, Fireball is the son of Blitzen and his mind is often preoccupied with does; another reindeer is said to be the son of Dasher and struggles at flying, along with two other reindeer fawns of the same age. Comet's daughter, a young fawn named Clarice, is also featured, although she does not try out for the team. Donner is portrayed as Rudolph's father/sire.
The sketch comedy series, MADtv, commissioned a trilogy of Rudolph parodies from Corky Quakenbush beginning in 1995, using the characters from the 1964 Rudolph special in Mafia settings. The first, "Raging Rudolph", identifies the two fawns seen with Fireball during the original special (Fireball does not appear in the trilogy) as Jimmy the Antler and Franky Two Times.
The 1977 animated special Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey features a donkey named Spieltote who serves as Santa Claus's assistant.
The 1979 feature film, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, features an antagonist reindeer named Scratcher.
In the 1993 film Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington calls upon his ghost dog, Zero, to lead his skeletal-reindeer team through the night which had become foggy, when Sally tried to prevent Jack from leaving Halloweentown to deliver presents to the real world.
"Lightning", from a 1996 Sesame Street Christmas special, "Elmo Saves Christmas", is a reindeer-in-training. Lightning helps Santa by taking Elmo, who wished for Christmas 24/7, to the future to see what Sesame Street would look like with Christmas every day.
Annabelle, from the 1997 direct-to-video special Annabelle's Wish, is a young cow who was born on Christmas Eve and thus possesses "the magic of Christmas". She eventually becomes a reindeer herself and pulls Santa's sleigh, which has been Annabelle's lifelong goal.
The 1998 feature film, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie, introduces Mitzi as Rudolph's mother and Blitzen's wife (as opposed to the Rankin-Bass version, wherein Donner is Rudolph's father). It also features two other reindeer named Zoey and Arrow, who appear to be clones of Clarice and Fireball, respectively.
In the 1999 movie Blizzard, other reindeer are shown to live at the North Pole: Blizzard, who has the ability to become invisible and to see the whereabouts of people, DJ, Blizzard's best friend, and Aphrodite, a female reindeer who reports to an elder called Archimedes.
In the 1999 TV special Robbie the Reindeer, the eponymous Robbie is obstensibly assumed to be the son of Rudolph. His special feature is his nose, which has supernatural powers that allow him to jump and fly farther and faster than most reindeer; in addition, this leads to Robbie's literally having a "nose" for geography, as it can lead Robbie to just about any location in the world.
Chet is a young reindeer in training who is introduced in the 2002 feature film, The Santa Clause 2. Because of his age, he has a tendency to be clumsy and awkward; however, he is able to help Santa save Christmas.
The 2002 South Park Christmas special, "Red Sleigh Down", introduces an entirely new fleet of reindeer after the traditional reindeer are killed, when the sleigh is shot down as Santa tries to bring Christmas to Iraq. The main characters rescue him by using the alternative reindeer named: Steven, Fluffy, Horace, Chantel, Skippy, Rainbow, Patches and Montel. Their names are sung in a similar fashion in order to make them fly. Their future fate beyond this one incident is unknown; either the replacements take over permanently, or the original are resurrected without explanation (see Kenny's deaths for an explanation of this phenomenon in the South Park universe).
In the 2006 TV special Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen, Rusty is said to be Rudolph's brother. Unlike the other reindeer, Rusty is powerless, flightless, and notably clumsy. Unfit for pulling Santa's sleigh, he instead assists Santa and the other reindeer from air traffic control.
The TV series, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, introduced a special Super Sleuth Christmas Movie in 2007 that included Holly, a young reindeer fawn.
The 2008 television special, The Flight Before Christmas, features Nico. Nico is Prancer's love child from a one-night stand with a regular reindeer, and the young Nico goes to the North Pole to seek his father (whom he believes, but is not sure, is one of Santa's reindeer, and he doesn't know which one). Through Nico's courage, he is able to learn to fly, proving his ancestry in the process, and saves the reindeer from a pack of ravenous wolves. (Rudolph is absent from the sleigh team in this special, presumably for copyright purposes.)
Thrasher is a top-secret, oversized reindeer introduced in the 2009 Disney special Prep and Landing. He leads the titular "prep and landing" team of elves in a sleigh ahead of Santa Claus' main sled. He is significantly larger and tougher than the main reindeer, and he is said to be Dasher's cousin. (Rudolph is again absent from this special, with lighting instead provided by the prep and landing team.)
[edit]Literature and publications
L. Frank Baum's 1902 story The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus includes a list of ten reindeer, none of whom match the names of the versions found in "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Flossie and Glossie are Santa's principal reindeer in Baum's story. Claus gathers eight more reindeer, named in rhyming pairs: Racer, Pacer, Fearless, Peerless, Ready, Steady, Feckless, and Speckless. When the story was remade into a television special in 1985, the television producers scrapped Baum's reindeer and replaced them with those found in "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
Olive, from a 1997 children's book and 1999 television special entitled Olive, the Other Reindeer, is not a reindeer but a dog. She mistook a news report regarding the plight of one of Santa's reindeer as a "help wanted" ad and heads to the North Pole, where she fills in for the ill reindeer for the year. The title of the story references a mondegreen derived from misinterpreting the words "all of the other reindeer" in the Rudolph story and song.
The comic strip, Over the Hedge (which was made into a 2006 film), added a character named Ralph, the Infrared Nosed Reindeer, who is Rudolph's brother and has a nose that emits infrared heat (useful for heating food and defrosting Santa's sleigh). He is often envious of his more famous brother and, possibly because of an inferiority complex, is depressed and overweight.
[edit]Music
In the song "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?", recorded by Augie Rios in 1958, two other reindeer are named in the verse that goes: "I hope he won't forget to crack his castanet, and to his reindeer say: On Pancho, on Vixen, on Pedro, on Blitzen, Ole, Ole, Ole!"
In the 1958 Chuck Berry song, "Run Rudolph Run", the verses refer to Randolph, "way too far behind."
Santa needs the help of Dominick, the Italian Christmas Donkey to cross the hills of Italy according to the 1960 song by Lou Monte.
Rolf Harris sings about Santa using kangaroos instead of reindeer in Australia in his 1961 song, "Six White Boomers".
The Ray Stevens song Santa Claus is Watching You, features Clyde, a camel borrowed from Stevens' previous song "Ahab the Arab", who replaces Rudolph for the year. According to the original 1965 version of the song, Rudolph "dislocated his hip in a Twist contest", so Clyde is his replacement. In a later version of the song, in which the singer is talking to his lover, Rudolph is "on a stakeout" at the lover's house (making sure the lover remains true to the singer). The song also lists the original fleet of reindeer plus two other reindeer named Bruce and Marvin. Later editions of the songs add a longer more rambling list: Leon, Cletus, George, Bill, Slick, Do-Right, Ace, Blackie, Queenie, Prince, Spot, and Rover.
In Cheech & Chong's 1971 record "Santa Claus and His Old Lady", Cheech's character mentions reindeer named Donner, Blitzen, Chuy, Tavo, and Beto. The last three are typical Mexican nicknames; for Jesus, Gustavo/Octavio, and Roberto/Alberto.
Loretta Lynn's 1974 single "Shadrack, the Black Reindeer" introduced the speedy Shadrack. In the song, Rudolph has gotten older and slower. An already late Santa threatens to leave him behind, but the other reindeer suggest that they will complete their rounds on time if Shadrack and Rudolph lead the team side by side, and they succeed in doing so.
Joe Diffie's 1995 single "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer" features Leroy, who is Rudolph's cousin. Leroy, as stated in the title, is a redneck who wears a John Deere tractor hat and has a knack for dancing the two-step. Leroy replaces his ill cousin Rudolph as the leader of the sleigh team for the year.
Bob Dylan's 2009 version of "Must Be Santa" has a line at the end of the song which replaces half of the reindeer with former Presidents of the United States: "Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon... Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton."
[edit]Radio
WLIT-FM, a Christmas music station in Chicago, Illinois, uses a reindeer mascot named Edison (named after inventor Thomas Edison) with a glowing yellow-white nose similar to an incandescent lamp. For public appearances, "Edison" is portrayed with a Rudolph costume, including a red nose.[5]
[edit]Stage productions
Adolph, The Racially Pure Reindeer was the brother of Rudolph in a Christmas stage show by Big Nazo puppets in 1993. In their large-scale puppet rock and roll show, Adolph (an obvious parody of German dictator Adolf Hitler) goes insane and must be put down by one of Santa's elves. |
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Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through inclement winter weather.
Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward.[1]
The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been adapted in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special, and a feature film. Character Arts, LLC [2] manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P. Although the story and song are not public domain, Rudolph has become a figure of Christmas folklore.
Contents [hide]
1 The story
2 The song
3 Rudolph in the media
3.1 Theatrical cartoon short
3.2 Comic books
3.3 Children's book
3.4 Stop Motion Animation TV special
3.5 Animated feature-length film
4 Relatives in different adaptations
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
[edit]The story
Cover of one of the books of the Robert L. May story by Maxton Publishers, Inc.
Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money. May considered naming the reindeer "Rollo" and "Reginald" before deciding upon using the name "Rudolph".[3] In its first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by Montgomery Ward. The story is written as a poem in the meter of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is loved by millions and still selling copies. Publication and reprint rights for the book "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" are controlled by Pearson Plc.
[edit]The song
May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into a song. Marks (1909–1985), was a radio producer and wrote several popular Christmas songs. He was born in a New York City suburb and graduated from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, before traveling to Paris to study music. He had a heroic World War II combat record, winning the Bronze Star and four battle stars.
The song was first sung commercially by crooner Harry Brannon on New York city radio in the latter part of 1948, before Gene Autry recorded it formally in 1949, and has since filtered into the popular consciousness.
The lyric "All of the other reindeer" can be misheard in dialects with the cot-caught merger as the mondegreen "Olive, the other reindeer", and has given rise to another character featured in her own Christmas television special, Olive, the Other Reindeer. (Coincidentally, she mentions Rudolph by name to one of the reindeer, and the reindeer tells her Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer doesn't exist; it's all an urban legend.)
The song in its Finnish translation, Petteri Punakuono, has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in the mythology as the lead reindeer of Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa. However, in Finland, Santa's reindeer do not fly.
Autry's version of the song also holds the distinction of being the only number one hit to fall completely off the chart after hitting #1 the week of Christmas, 1949. The official date of its #1 status was for the week ending January 7, 1950 making it the first #1 song of the 1950's.[4] Nonetheless, it sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s.[5]
In 1950, the song was recorded by Bing Crosby. His version reached number 6 on Billboard magazine's Best Selling Children's Records chart and number 14 on Billboard's pop singles chart that year.[6]
Also in 1950, Spike Jones and his City Slickers released a version of the song that peaked at number 7 on Billboard magazine's pop singles chart and number 8 on Billboard's Best Selling Children's Records chart.[7]
In 1951, Red Foley and The Little Foleys released a version of the song that peaked at number 8 on Billboard magazine's Best Selling Children's Records chart.[8]
In 1953, Billy May recorded a mambo version of the song titled "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo" with vocals by Alvin Stoller.
In 1957, The Cadillacs released a doo-wop version of the song that peaked at number 11 on Billboard magazine's Rhythm & Blues Records chart.[9]
In 1959, Dean Martin recorded the song for his album, A Winter Romance.
In 1960, The Chipmunks released a novelty version of the song that peaked at number 21 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart and number 15 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[10]
Also in 1960, the Melodeers released a doo-wop version of the song that peaked at number 72 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart.[11]
Also in 1960, Paul Anka released a version of the song that peaked at number 104 on Billboard magazine's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[12]
In 1963, The Crystals recorded the song for the rock 'n' roll holiday album A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records, which was produced by Phil Spector.
In 1965, The Supremes recorded the song for their holiday album, Merry Christmas.
In 1968, The Temptations released a version of the song that peaked at number 12 on Billboard magazine's special, year-end, weekly Christmas Singles chart (this same version later got as high as number 3 on the same chart in December 1971).[13] Their version of the song was also included on the group's 1970 Christmas album, The Temptations Christmas Card.
In 1970, The Jackson 5 recorded the song for their holiday album, The Jackson 5 Christmas Album.
In 1987, the California Raisins did a Motown pop-influenced rendition of the song for Will Vinton's A Claymation Christmas Celebration.
In 1996, Alan Jackson released a version of the song that peaked at number 56 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[14]
Also in 1996, The Wiggles recorded this song for their album, Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas. A year later, they sang it on their video, Wiggly Wiggly Christmas.
Also in 1996, Peach Hips, a group consisting of Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, Rica Fukami, Emi Shinohara and Michie Tomizawa covered this song for a Christmas album coinciding with the fifth season of Sailor Moon.
In 2000, Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded the song for their holiday album, Christmas Time Again.
In 2008, Jack Johnson recorded this song for a Christmas album by his record label, This Warm December: Brushfire Holiday Volume 1.
In 2009, Barry Manilow included this song in the re-release of his third Christmas album, In the Swing of Christmas.
[edit]Rudolph in the media
[edit]Theatrical cartoon short
Rudolph's first screen appearance came in 1947, in the form of a cartoon short produced by Max Fleischer for the Jam Handy Corporation, that was more faithful to May's original story than Marks' song (which had not then yet been written).[15] It was reissued in 1948 with the song added.
[edit]Comic books
National Periodical Publications, also known as DC Comics, published a series of 13 annuals titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from 1950 to 1962. In 1972, DC published a 14th edition in an extra-large format. Subsequently, they published six more in that format: Limited Collectors' Edition C-24, C-33, C-42, C-50 and All-New Collectors' Edition C-53, C-60. Additionally, one digest format edition was published as The Best of DC #4 (Mar/Apr 1980).
[edit]Children's book
In 1958, Golden Books published an illustrated storybook, adapted by Barbara Shook Hazen and illustrated by Richard Scarry. The book is similar in story to the Max Fleischer cartoon short. Although it is one of the more memorable versions of the story in book form, it is apparently no longer in print. However, a revised Golden Books version of the storybook has since been issued.
In 2003 Penguin Group (USA) Inc, a division of Pearson Plc, issued a reprint version of the original "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" with new artwork by Lisa Papp. Penguin also reprinted May's sequels "Rudolph Shines Again" and "Rudolph To The Rescue."
[edit]Stop Motion Animation TV special
Main article: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)
The reindeer made his television debut on NBC in 1964, when Rankin/Bass produced a stop-motion animated TV special. This version of the story adds several new characters, including the prospector Yukon Cornelius, a love interest for Rudolph named Clarice, and a Christmas elf named Hermey. (Hermey, like Rudolph, is a misfit: he suffers the disdain of the other elves because he would rather be a dentist than a toymaker). New subplots include Hermey and Rudolph running away to the "Island of Misfit Toys" where defective, anthropomorphic toys are left when they are deemed unfit for a child's care, and the capture of Rudolph's parents and Clarice by the Abominable Snowmonster.
In 1975, a sequel to the Rankin-Bass original special was produced, titled Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and then a third in 1979 titled Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July. The 2001 film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, while it used the same characters, was produced by a different company, and it's unclear whether or not it should be considered as part of this particular canon (see the next section).
[edit]Animated feature-length film
Main article: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
An animated feature film of the story was produced in 1998, titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie. It received only a limited theatrical release before debuting on home video. Despite this, it has garnered a base of dedicated fans as well as criticisms of many of the songs. Its inclusion of a villain character, Stormella, and a love interest, Zoey, for Rudolph as well as a small sidekick, Slyly, and a strong protector character, Leonard, are very derivative of the Rankin-Bass adaptation of the story as opposed to the original tale and song (the characters of Stormella, Zoey, Arrow, Slyly and Leonard closely parallel the Rankin-Bass characters of The Bumble, Clarice, Fireball, Hermey the Dentist, and Yukon Cornelius respectively). The movie amplifies the early back-story of Rudolph's harassment by his schoolmates (primarily an older fawn named Arrow) during his formative years.
GoodTimes Entertainment, the producers of this film, brought back most of the same production team for a CGI animated sequel, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys in 2001. Unlike the film, the sequel licensed the original characters from the Rankin-Bass special.
[edit]Relatives in different adaptations
Main article: Santa Claus's reindeer#Additional reindeer
Two BBC animations carry on the legend by introducing Rudolph's son, Robbie the Reindeer. However, Rudolph is never directly mentioned by name (references are replaced by a character interrupting with the phrase "Don't say that name!" or something similar, presumably for copyright reasons.)
Rudolph is also given a brother, Rusty Reindeer, in the 2006 American special, Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen. Unlike in the "Robbie the Reindeer" cartoons, Rudolph's name is mentioned freely in the film.
Michael Fry and T. Lewis have recently given Rudolph another brother in a series of Over the Hedge comic strips; an overweight, emotionally-damaged reindeer named "Ralph, the Infra-Red nosed Reindeer", who has a red nose just like Rudolph's, but his is good for defrosting Santa's sleigh and warming up toast and waffles. He appeared before R.J., Verne, and Hammy, enviously complaining about his brother's publicity and his anonymity.
Rudolph has a cousin, Leroy, in Joe Diffie's 1995 song, "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer".
In the animated specials produced by both Rankin-Bass and GoodTimes Entertainment, Rudolph has been given different sets of parents. In Rankin-Bass's holiday special, he is Donner's son and his mother is an unnamed tan doe with long eyelashes who is simply called "Mrs. Donner". In GoodTimes's retelling, Rudolph's father is Blitzen, possibly to avoid plagiarism, and his mother, played by Debbie Reynolds, is named Mitzi. In this film, Rudolph's three uncles are the three reindeer Dasher, Comet, and Cupid.
Robert L. May's original book does not name Rudolph's parents. |
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"A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, although the claim has also been made that it was written by Henry Livingston, Jr.
The poem, which has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American", [1] is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond.
Contents [hide]
1 Plot
2 Literary history
3 Original copies
4 Authorship controversy
4.1 Evidence in favor of Moore
4.2 Evidence in favor of Livingston
5 In popular culture
5.1 Comics
5.2 Films
5.3 Literature
5.4 Music and spoken word
5.5 Radio and television
5.6 Other
6 References
7 External links
[edit]Plot
Clement Clarke Moore, who is generally considered to be the author of A Visit from St. Nicholas
On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a man awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, he sees St. Nicholas in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After flying on to the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack of toys with him. The man watches Nicholas filling the children's stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. They share a conspiratorial moment before the saint bounds up the chimney again. As he flies away, Nicholas wishes everyone a happy Christmas.
[edit]Literary history
According to legend, [2] A Visit was composed by Moore on a snowy winter's day during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical Saint Nicholas. While Moore originated many of the features that are still associated with Santa Claus today, he borrowed other aspects such as the names of the reindeer. The poem was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on December 23, 1823, having been sent there by a friend of Clement Clarke Moore, [1] and was reprinted frequently thereafter with no name attached. Only later did Moore acknowledge his authorship, and the poem was included in an 1844 anthology of his works.[3] Moore had written it for his children, and being a scholar and professor, did not wish at first to be connected with the poem, but his children insisted that it be included in the anthology.
Moore's conception of St. Nicholas was borrowed from his friend Washington Irving's (see below), but Moore portrayed his "jolly old elf" as arriving on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. At the time Moore wrote the poem, Christmas Day was overtaking New Year's Day as the preferred genteel family holiday of the season, but some Protestants - who saw Christmas as the result of "Catholic ignorance and deception" - still had reservations. By having St. Nicholas arrive the night before, Moore "deftly shifted the focus away from Christmas Day with its still-problematic religious associations". As a result, "New Yorkers embraced Moore's child-centered version of Christmas as if they had been doing it all their lives".[1]
In An American Anthology, 1787–1900, editor Edmund Clarence Stedman reprinted the Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of "Donder and Blitzen" he adopted, rather than the earlier Dutch version from 1823, "Dunder and Blixem". Both phrases translate as "Thunder and Lightning" in English, though the German word for thunder is "Donner", and the words in modern Dutch would be "Donder en Bliksem".
Today, some printings alter the grammar and spelling of the poem and replace somewhat archaic words, such as ere, with ones more familiar to modern readers; i.e. "But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight", etc. The final line, originally written as "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night", has been changed in many later editions to "'Merry Christmas' to all", in accord with the standard Christmas greeting current in North America.
[edit]Original copies
Four hand-written copies of the poem are known to exist, and three are in museums. The fourth copy, written out and signed by Clement Clarke Moore as a gift to a friend in 1860, was sold by one private collector to another in December, 2006. According to Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, which brokered the private sale, it was purchased for $280, 000 U.S. by an unnamed "chief executive officer of a media company" who resides in Manhattan, New York City.[4]
[edit]Authorship controversy
Henry Livingston, Jr. is another candidate brought forward in one theory as possible author of the poem
Moore's connection with the poem has been questioned by Professor Donald Foster, an expert on textual content analysis, who used external and internal evidence to argue that Moore could not have been the author.[5] Major Henry Livingston, Jr., a New Yorker with Dutch and Scottish roots, is considered the chief candidate for authorship, if Moore did not write it. Livingston was distantly related to Moore's wife.[5]
[edit]Evidence in favor of Moore
Moore is credited by his friend Charles Hoffman as author in the December 25, 1837, Pennsylvania Inquirer and Daily Courier. Further, the Rev. David Butler, who allegedly showed the poem to Sentinel editor Orville L. Holley, was a relative of Moore's. A letter to Moore from the publisher states "I understand from Mr. Holley that he received it from Mrs. Sackett, the wife of Mr. Daniel Sackett who was then a merchant in this city"[citation needed]. Moore allowed the poem to be included in his anthology in 1844, at the request of his children. Moore preferred to be known for more scholarly works.[citation needed]
[edit]Evidence in favor of Livingston
Moore "tried at first to disavow" the poem.[6] He claimed that only two changes were introduced in the first printing, yet it differs from his own on 23 points.[citation needed] It is also said that Moore falsely claimed to have translated a book.[7] Document historian Seth Kaller has challenged this claim as a misinterpretation of a book dedication.[8] According to Kaller, Moore signed the translation as a gift to the New-York Historical Society, as one might dedicate a book they give to another person, but did not claim authorship.
The following points have been advanced in order to credit the poem to Major Henry Livingston, Jr:
Livingston also wrote poetry primarily using an anapaestic metrical scheme, and it is claimed that some of the phraseology of A Visit is consistent with other poems by Livingston, and that Livingston's poetry is more optimistic than Moore's poetry published in his own name. But Stephen Nissenbaum argues, in his Battle for Christmas, that the poem could have been a social satire of the Victorianization of Christmas.[8] Furthermore, Kaller claims that Foster cherry-picked only the poems that fit his thesis and that many of Moore's unpublished works have a tenor, phraseology and meter similar to A Visit.[8] Moore had even written a letter entitled "From Saint Nicholas" that may have predated 1823.[8]
Foster also asserts that Livingston's mother was Dutch, which accounts for the references to the Dutch Sinteklaes tradition and the use of the Dutch names "Dunder and Blixem". Against this claim, it is suggested by Kaller[8] that Moore, a friend of writer Washington Irving and member of the same literary society, may have acquired some of his knowledge of New York Dutch traditions from Irving. Irving had written A History of New York in 1809 under the name of "Dietrich Knickerbocker". It includes several references to legends of St. Nicholas, including the following that bears a close relationship to the poem:
And the sage Oloffe dreamed a dream, — and lo, the good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children, and he descended hard by where the heroes of Communipaw had made their late repast. And he lit his pipe by the fire, and sat himself down and smoked; and as he smoked, the smoke from his pipe ascended into the air and spread like a cloud overhead. And Oloffe bethought him, and he hastened and climbed up to the top of one of the tallest trees, and saw that the smoke spread over a great extent of country; and as he considered it more attentively, he fancied that the great volume of smoke assumed a variety of marvellous forms, where in dim obscurity he saw shadowed out palaces and domes and lofty spires, all of which lasted but a moment, and then faded away, until the whole rolled off, and nothing but the green woods were left. And when St. Nicholas had smoked his pipe, he twisted it in his hatband, and laying his finger beside his nose, gave the astonished Van Kortlandt a very significant look; then, mounting his wagon, he returned over the tree-tops and disappeared.
– Washington Irving, A History of New York[9]
Cover of a 1912 edition of the poem, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
[edit]In popular culture
The very well-known poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas", has inspired many parodies, [10] adaptations and references in popular culture.
[edit]Comics
In the Garfield comic strips published during the week of December 19–24, 1983, the text of the poem was drawn above scenes of Garfield acting out the part of the narrator.
Currently (December 13–25, 2010), Over the Hedge is covering the poem in a story arc, in which Verne tries to read it to Hammy and R.J. but keeps getting interrupted by their silly comments.
Issue 40 of the DC comic book, Young Justice (2001), is a full-length parody of the poem. Unusually for a comic book, it features no panels or word balloon, only full-page illustrations accompanied by rhyming text. In the story, Santa sacrifices his life to save the world from a vengeful alien villain (though it's implied he'll be reborn next Christmas) and the teen heroes are stuck with the task of delivering all his gifts.
[edit]Films
In the movie Die Hard, Theo alerts his friends to the SWAT team's arrival with the opening line of this poem.[11]
In National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) reads the story to his extended family, but changes the narrative when he looks out the window and sees Cousin Eddie and Eddie's kidnapped hostage (Clark's boss) approaching the house. Instead of describing the "miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer", Clark describes the strange event taking place in his front yard.
The 1905 short silent film, The Night Before Christmas, was the first production of the poem on film.
Tim Burton's 1993 stop motion film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, parodies the poem's first line.
[edit]Literature
The children's book, The Cajun Night Before Christmas, offers a Cajun version of the classic tale, written in Cajun dialect and changing the scene to a Louisiana swamp and the saint's vehicle to a skiff pulled by alligators.[12]
A "Canonical List of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Variations" contains nearly one thousand versions of the classic poem.[13]
In 1986 Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt penned "Merry Christmas, My friend. A Marine's version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'".[14]
James Thurber’s parody, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas IN THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY MANNER, ” which originally appeared in the December 24, 1927 issue of The New Yorker.
Author, Michael Hebler & Illustrator, Anita Driessen's picture book, The Night After Christmas, is the continuing story of Santa Claus's return to the North Pole after completing his busiest night of the year.[15]
[edit]Music and spoken word
In 1953, Perry Como recorded a reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". Its original release was on the Around the Christmas Tree LPM-3133.[16]
The nu metal band Korn released a limited edition promotional 12-inch single single in 1993, which featured two versions of their "A Visit from St. Nicholas" parody: "Christmas Song (Squeak by the FCC version)" and "Christmas Song (Blatant FCC Violation version)".[17]
The poem was set to music by Ken Darby and recorded by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians in 1942 in an arrangement by Harry Simeone.
Actor Jack Palance narrates the poem on Laurie Z's 2001 recording, Heart of the Holidays.
The poem was set to music by Aaron Dai in 2006 as The Night Before Christmas. It has been performed by The Chelsea Symphony and noteworthy narrators such as Richard Kind, Ana Gasteyer, and David Hyde Pierce.
A Pokémon version of this poem is included on the soundtrack CD album of Pokémon-themed Christmas songs entitled, Pokémon Christmas Bash.
In a 1939 recording included in the Nimbus Records collection Prima Voce: The Spirit of Christmas Past, actor Basil Rathbone reads the poem.
The Bob Rivers comedy album Twisted Christmas features the track "A Visit from St. Nicholson", a narration of a Christmas visit from Jack Nicholson.
In the Dave Van Ronk song "Yas Yas Yas", the poem is parodied in the verse "'Twas the night before Christmas, all was quiet in the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, when from the lawn there came a big crash. It was Father Christmas landing on his yas yas yas."
[edit]Radio and television
Episode 55 of Animaniacs featured a skit titled "The Day Before Christmas", in which Ralph the Guard is given the task of delivering Yakko, Wakko, and Dot's Christmas presents. The short is presented as a bedtime story told by Slappy Squirrel to her nephew Skippy, and is narrated in the poetic form as the original story. This cartoon was adapted into comic book form in a special comic book published by DC Comics in October 1994.
Some holiday airings of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy had Charlie McCarthy trying to recite the poem from memory, resulting in such lines as "The stockings were hung by the chimney with care/In hopes that the laundryman soon would be there" (a few times the line went "In hopes that the room could stand some fresh air"), "He flies through the air with the greatest of ease/The jolly old elf in the red BVD's", and "Now, Dasher, Now, Dancer, and what do you know/Dasher and Dancer paid $220 to show!"
The song with the poem as its basis as stated above, arranged by Harry Simeone and music by Ken Darby, was performed at holiday airings of Fibber McGee and Molly, usually introduced by Teeny, the neighbor girl, as their "Christmas Carol".
At the beginning of Friends (TV series) episode 9, "The One with Christmas in Tulsa", Phoebe sings the last four lines of The Night Before Christmas and Joey claims she wrote it.
In A Muppet Family Christmas, the Sesame Street Muppets perform a play based on the poem, with Ernie narrating as the father (the main character) and Bert as Mamma (he lost a coin toss). The monsters appear as the reindeer, with the Two-Headed Monster as Santa (and Grover as the mouse who is not stirring, literally). The narration omits the line "The children were nestled, all snug in their bed(s)/While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads", because of the homosexuality rumor.[citation needed]
A hip-hop animated version of the poem was made as an hour long animated special, The Night B4 Christmas.
Bell Telephone Company sponsored a short film circa 1950 entitled The Spirit of Christmas, featuring the Les and Mabel Beaton marionettes. Within a few years, it became a holiday perennial in many TV markets, especially in the Philadelphia area.
In the 1961, Bell Telephone Hour television program A Trip to Christmas, a version of the poem is performed offscreen by hostess Jane Wyatt and a chorus, and enacted onscreen by the Bil Baird Marionettes.
In the animated TV special by Rankin/Bass (1974), titled "Twas the Night Before Christmas", the characters and portions of the plot are loosely based on the poem.
In the Barney and the Backyard Gang special, "Waiting for Santa", Barney reads the story to Michael and Amy, whom he has befriended, while Santa himself is in the living room of the house doing his usual work. He falls asleep just as he comes to "With a little old driver, so lively and quick/I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick". Santa whispers the last quotation to the camera after that.
[edit]Other
"The Night Before Doom", which appears in the Official DOOM F.A.Q., is a poem centered on the computer game Doom.[18]
For Christmas 1985, the Internet Engineering Task Force circulated an RFC document that was actually a poem about the early days of the Internet, titled "Twas the Night Before Start-up".[19] |
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| My seevice were disconnected. (don't know what date) the account was then sent to collections. Collections called me., I advised them that I wanted to re-instate my services, they gave me the number to call. I spoke with Dick who took a payment of $248.14. said that since i had contacted them within timeframe of sending accout to collections I would not have to pay a reinstatement fee! fine. I paid what was asked. I the waited as requested several days and called back to see if my system had been activcated. Well, I got Dan who told me that Dick had looked at my accout wrong and that I had to pay the $200.00 rein-statement plus two mos of prepayment before the system would be re-activated. okay. I paid the $248.18 as requested. even tho i was told something else. I called on 06/16/11 to get my systems activated, spoke with Ben? the name is at home and I am at work., however he worked me graciously in trying to get the system back on. After a while, he spoke with me about another system which I was instrested in, however, since I had to speak with my husband, I told him that that was something I would do later, once he established that the system was off due to non-payment and now he tells me it will take up to a week before the system is put back on line. KEEP IN MINE I HAVE PAID ALL OUT STANDING FEES AS WELL AS A $200.00 REINSTATEMENT FEE. PLUS TWO MONTHS OF PAYMENT. I called 06/17/2011 regarding the check that was predated to clear 06/30/2011 to be sure it had been voided out of lthe system, because on 06/16/11 I was told that it was still pending and it should not be. in speaking with Dan who see lost about what was going on...mine you he is the person who told me that Dick had look at the account worng and I had to pay the $200.00 penalty, and the one who said that I would have to waiit until the check cleared b4 the system would be put back on line. Since I did not want to wait, I gave himn the debt card so I would not have a delay. Non-the less this has been a total night mare to put it midly. I stil do not have services and I am that I have a credit on my accouunt but cannot have moniting for another week from the date of 06/17/ 2011. I may have caused this problems, I did my part, however VIVIt has not done there part. Your customer sevice/billing is VERY GOOD ABOUT COLLECTING BUT NOT GEETING THE CUSTOMER BACK ON LINE, IN FACT THEY COULD CARE LESS. HOWEVER, I COULD HAVE GOTTEN A NEW SYSTEM AND GOTTEN BACK ON LINE WITHIN A 24HR TIMEFRAME, "WHAT WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE...? AFTER ASKING WHEN DOES MY CONTACT END WITH VIVINT, I WAS TOLD BY BEN, THAT IT IS OCTOBER OF 2012. MY ACCT IS SET TO PAY EACH MONTH ON TIME UNTIL THAT TIME AT WHICH TIME I NO LONGER WISH TO BE A CUSTOMER. AND BECAUSE OF THE WAY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HANDLE SINCE I DONE MY PART. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THEIRE WAS NO ONE IN MANAGEMENT THAT I COULD SPEAK TO ABOUT GETTING HACK ON LINE. i WORK WITH THE PUBLIC DAILY, AND EVEN I HAVE A SUPERVISOR THAT THE CALL CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO... I UNDERSTANDI THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT IS OUT OF SUPPORTS HANDS, BUT i DON NOT UNDERSTAND SUCH A DELAY WHEN THE CUSTOMER HS DONE THERE PART TO COMPLY WITH TO COMPANY. |
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