Santas reindeer biography
Santas reindeer biography
Santas reindeer printables.
The Reindeer
The first known written reference of a reindeer in association with the legend of Santa Claus occurred in 1821. That year, New York printer William Gilley published a sixteen-page booklet titled “A New Year’s Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve”,
by an anonymous author.
by an anonymous author.
In the book, a reindeer is introduced
into the Santa Claus narrative:
Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night.
O'er chimneytops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you.
The singular and plural of the word reindeer are the same, and so
the images that accompany the booklet are important, for in the
image that shows Santa in his sleigh there is only one reindeer.
During an 1822 interview, New York’s Troy Sentinel editor Orville
L.
Holley questioned Mr. Gilley regarding the booklet’s author and
the topic of reindeer. Though he did not identify the author, Mr.
Gilley responded:
“Dear Sir, the idea of Santeclaus was not mine n