STAG HARNESS PENDANT
Reindeer and Christmas. The two words are so entwined and seem to fit together perfectly but reindeer haven’t always been associated with Christmas, so why are they today?
In early versions of the legend, Santa Claus rode a white horse to deliver presents, but as the Saint Nicolas myth merged with local folktale, other aspects were included in the myth. In Norse and Germanic mythology, Thor (God of Thunder) flies through the sky in a chariot pulled by two magical goats. It is possible the Saint Nicholas myth was combined with the well-known local myth of a chariot pulled by animals.
1804 a miniature representation of a reindeer and sleigh accompany Santa Claus, possibly taken from the Russian winter folk spirit, Father Frost, who drives a sled drawn by reindeer. In 1812 Washington Irving refers to St. Nicholas as:
“Riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon (sleigh)
wherein he brings his yearly presents to children.”
Ten years later in 1821, printer William Gilley published a booklet by an anonymous author where reindeer are introduced with Santa Claus for the first time,
“Old Sante Claus with much delight,
His reindeer drives this frosty night.
O’er chimney tops, and tracks of snow,
to bring his yearly gifts to you”.
Names are given to the reindeer in 1822/23 in the poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ [or ‘’Twas the Night Before Christmas’] where it states that Santa drives a sleigh pulled by eight reindeers [Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (Donner) and Blixem (Blitzen). Rudolph wasn’t introduced until 1939, the creation of Robert L. May.
This explains how reindeer came to guide Santa’s sleigh but not why reindeer were picked in the first place. During the 18th century in Scandinavian and Eastern European countries, reindeer were domesticated and often used (and still are today) for transportation like pulling sleds and sleighs. They were seen as mysterious creatures, suitable companions for the magical Santa Claus.
A harness pendant recorded on the database depicts a stag (SF5207), although with its protruding horns and slightly red nose, shares similarities to Santa’s reindeer. Stags were important during the medieval period and were described in bestiaries as an enemy of snakes. Because snakes were seen as a symbol of Satan, the stag became the symbol of Christ. The stag is associated with the soul wishing to become pure, with the white stag becoming the emblem of King Richard II.
