Woman's reminder that an all-female reindeer crew pulls Santa's sleigh sparks amusing reactions

Dashing through the snow, the team of nine reindeer with mighty antlers is known to pull Santa's sleigh as he delivers Christmas presents every year. But how many of us have stopped to think about whether Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and the red-nosed Rudolph are indeed male reindeer as pop culture has led us to believe. Louise Boyce—who goes by @mamastillgotit_ on TikTok—recently sparked an amusing discussion about this when she reminded her followers that Santa's sleigh is actually pulled by a team of female reindeer. She backed her statement with a surprising fact about those wild animals. The viral video gained over 3 million views and 636k likes. While many were amazed by her disclosure, some women were not surprised about female reindeer doing the work.

The award-winning content creator, Boyce, is also a best-selling author and a mother of three children. Her hilarious videos on parenting and wifehood have garnered more than 387k followers and as Christmas is nearing, she decided to shock the world with an amazing fact. "Male reindeer lose their antlers in winter and women don't," Boyce says in her video, adding: "So Santa's sleigh is actually being pulled by a team of women? Of course it is." Who would have thought that male and female reindeer losing antlers in different seasons would create a huge impact on our perceptions of Christmas time?

"We learned the antler thing whilst in Lapland. And this was my exact statement, incredibly loud, in front of everyone," commented @jccseasonaldecor. "Well, why the hell not - shop for gifts, wrap them, cook the dinner, send out cards, bake cookies and pull the sleigh," wrote @barbloveslifenc. "We will never rest in any life," joked @renee193. @barenakedplantsbykerri said, "I mean... Donner is the only half-questionable name.. and even that could be a Donna, lol." 

Perry Barboza, a physiologist at the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, told Live Science that from a scientific outlook, Rudolph and the gang appear to be females because the males tend to shed their antlers post-mating season in December. Also, Santa's reindeer live in the bitter cold Arctic regions and unlike the hefty old man, who keeps himself warm with his red velvet suit, these creatures rely on their fur and body fat to endure the cold. In general, compared to female reindeer, the males have lesser body fat to endure the snowy weather. Considering Barboza's claim that the females' body fat acts as "seals on hooves" when it comes to powering through winter, Santa made a wise choice while hiring an all-women team for their endurance and speed. 

Speaking of gender roles, yet another instance where Christmas folklore was viewed from a different perspective was when Norway's national postal service celebrated the gay love story of Santa and Harry. In 2022, as Norway marked the 50th year of supporting people loving whoever they want to, they shared this heartwarming tribute to the queer community. While traditional folklore perceives Santa Claus as a straight old man living with his wife, Mrs.Claus, in the North Pole, this video weaves a beautiful love story between Santa and a man he meets while leaving presents. 

Well, irrespective of different perspectives, Santa and his reindeer will never be forgotten and will continue to spread Christmas cheers all over the world.