Do You Know the Names of Santa's Reindeer?

I doubt you do, and IT DRIVES ME NUTS!!!

We have all heard Gene Autry's song abour Rudolph recorded in 1949 (from a poem by Robert May for Montgomery Ward Department Stores in 1939):

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen;
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen;
But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?"

The problem is that May GOT THE NAMES OF TWO OF THE REINDEER WRONG!!!

According to the original source ("A Visit from Saint Nicholas"--commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") published in 1823 the names of the last two reindeer are DUNDER and BLIXEM!!! These are Dutch words meaning Thunder and Lightning.

In a 1837 print, a publisher changed Bilxem to Blixen (likely to more closely rhyme with Vixen) and Dunder to Donder (likely to more closely resemble English pronunciation). When Clement Clarke Moore (often credited with the poem) published a book of verse in 1844 (which, by the way, is the one considered the "standard") changed the last reindeer to its currently accepted name of Blitzen and retained the 1837 change of Donder.

"Donner" showed up sometime in the early part of the 20th Century. As early as 1906 the New York Times published Moore's poem with the offending "Donner". And in a 1926 article, the Times stated, "two of the original reindeer were originally given Dutch names, 'Donder' and 'Blixen' (Blicksem), meaning thunder and lightning....it is only modern publishers who have rechristened them with the German 'Donner and Blitzen.'"

So, let's get the names right...they are Dutch reindeer! Dunder and Bliksem--lightning and thunder! Poetic...AND IT STILL RHYMES!!!

(By the way Donner and Blitzen are German for thunder and the plural form of lightning).

Good sources:
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/donner.asp
http://www.donder.com/

Merry Christmas!

OK--so I was wrong

The season is just too busy...so posting will be spotty until the New Year.

Subjects I wanted to post about:

Auto Bailout--horrible idea (just like all of the bailouts so far)...let the market take care of itself...bankruptcy offers the opportunity to reorganize without worrying about union contracts or the even more problematic state franchise laws (when it comes to unloading dealerships).

The Advent Season and Christmas--Tis the season to prepare Him room both in retrospect of His birth and in preparation of His coming in glory to judge both the living and the dead. Advent is not just the preparation for Christmas celebrations of Jesus' birth, it is to remind us that we do not know when He will come again and that we must be prepared for His coming in heart, mind, and soul.

The Republican Party--Reformation or Revolution? Probably will tackle that next year...

The Status of the Union, the Constitution, Free Markets, etc.--will tackle also next year

Until next year, may you and yours have a blessed Christmas and New Year! May God bless you and keep you as the Yuletide comes and we move toward 2009.

Today is My 9th Anniversary!

Nine years ago this evening, I married a wonderful, beautiful woman, Kimberly Dawn Skeen. We met online (when that sort of thing was brand new) via a site called Digital City (Washington). I had posted a "personals" ad which she responded to one evening in February 1998 (I always kid her that the one answering a personal ad is definitely more desparate than the one who posted). I asked her to marry me in September and we were married on December 11, 1999 in McLean, Virginia.

Kim has been a true blessing in my life. She has made me a father three times over, and the joy she has brought to my journey in this mortal coil has vastly outweighed any difficulty. I wish I could say that I have been as much a blessing to her as she has to me, but that would be untrue. She has had to endure selfishness, shortsightedness, cancer, pain, and sadness because of me, and yet has remained by my side--for that I am truly grateful.

Through our time together, I have come to love Kim more deeply than I have ever loved any other person (except Christ). I continue to work toward being a better husband to her, struggling with my self-centeredness and other issues so that I can more effectively show my love for her.

I'm Baaaaaaack!

I will be posting between now and New Years only once or twice per week as the holidays and family take precedent. I will post on Mondays (12/15, 12/22, 1/5)...and maybe on Thursdays (12/11, 12/18).

I hope you will continue to read until I begin daily blogging again on January 5.