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!