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The history to the driving force behind Santa's sleigh is a lot more complicated than anyone probably thinks.

First of all, there were always more than nine reindeer. There were the originals, of course, the ones to pull the sleigh across the sky on the first Christmas Eve night, that familiar team of eight, comprised of the illustrious Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. Then of course there was the famous Rudolph, but he didn't show up until over 100 years later, and by then the original eight had retired, replaced by their descendants. Since the first eight, there have been nine generations of reindeer to pull the sleigh. Even with the powerful magic of Christmas Spirit--the very same type of magic that allows the reindeer to fly faster than the speed of sound--it's hard to keep a reindeer alive for too long, and even harder for them to continue pulling the sleigh.

The nine reindeer chosen for the glorious task of pulling the sleigh are imbued with that special magic on the night of their first sleigh ride, the first time Santa cracks his magic whip across their backs; a form of tough love carried over from the old times. The speed of the whip is what grants speed in flight--the tip travels faster than sound, which is what creates the snapping noise, and, in turn, allows the reindeer to travel just as fast. This magic energy, the magic of Christmas Spirit (also simply called Christmas Magic), comes straight from Santa himself, the purest and greatest source of such magic there is. This magic also allows each reindeer to live far longer than an average individual of their species. Each reindeer's Christmas Spirit is then fueled by the spirit of those around them and by their own spirit as well, so the longer they hold faith in everything that makes Christmas what it is, and the longer everyone else holds faith in them, the longer they will live. As strong as this magic is, even the original team didn't last forever.

There are always the eight to pull the sleigh, and the one descendant of the original Rudolph to guide the journey, but there are also the stand-ins. If Dasher gets sick or Donner breaks a leg or, God forbid, something should happen to Rudolph, another steps in. It's more complicated in the case of the latter, because as it turns out "red glowing nose" is a recessive genetic trait. There have been three such reindeer descended from the first red-nosed reindeer who were given the honor of pulling the sleigh, but the Rudolph family has always been a big one (and ironically, the Rudolph descendants these days are usually made fun of for not having a red nose, while the ones lucky enough to be blessed with this magical mutation are often romanticized). There is always more than one red-nosed reindeer, standing by to replace their sibling if need be, as sometimes these reindeer don't even make it through the necessary physical training to join the flight team.

Training to join the sleigh team is intense and rigorous, intended to reveal the best of the best. The tryouts, which take place every year on the 25th of June, accepting any reindeer from the ages of 18 to 25, are a cutthroat affair. These reindeer will do anything to have the honor of pulling the sleigh, even kill for it (but of course this is highly discouraged--those who are caught scheming to take their competitors out in an unfriendly way are removed from the tryouts and will never pull the sleigh). Because nothing says "peace on Earth" like plotting to gore your fellow reindeer with your antlers. The ones who are chosen to be hitched to the sleigh are selected not only for their raw strength and endurance, but also for their compassion and empathy. The Christmas Eve flight is a dangerous and delicate operation that requires the team to work together flawlessly.

As for names, none of the descendants are named directly after their ancestors anymore. This was the case for quite awhile, but it stopped sometime after Rudolph. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and the others have all become more like titles than actual names. Some say this is just so Santa doesn't have to go through the trouble of remembering the real name of every new reindeer, but I know better. I've met him.

Gender is a whole different matter. This has been a subject of some debate for quite a few Christmases. While it is true that male reindeer lose their antlers every year at the beginning of December, just after the end of the mating cycle, the magic that allows Santa's crew to live longer also alters their growth so that they don't lose their antlers until January. As such, it can be hard to tell whether the ones pulling the sleigh are male or female. The truth is, it changes a lot. No role is ever set to be a particular gender. There have been male Vixens and Prancers, as well as female Donners. The genders of the original team are still hotly debated today. Some say the team was an even split, with Dasher, Prancer, Comet, and Donner being male while Dancer, Vixen, Cupid, and Blitzen were female, but others make the argument that the team was all female, as the de-aging magic hadn't started to take effect yet and so any male reindeer to join the team would have lost their antlers--meaning those classic images of Santa and his team crossing the sky on that first Christmas Eve night, with their majestic antlers proudly on display, showed an all-girl team. Most usually agree that the original Rudolph was always male, but even this has its counter theories.

No one ever seems to agree on what the first team looked like, but this remains one of Santa's most well-kept secrets. There are stories of elves banding together and breaking into Santa's office, trying to uncover it, and there's even a rumor that the flight team went on strike one Christmas Eve, refusing to fly unless the big guy revealed the truth. Neither attempt was successful.

I'll leave you to your own conclusions. After all, what do I know? I've only been Dasher for six years.

***

My real name is Phoenix. I'm the first female reindeer to take up the Dasher role. The older reindeer didn't take it well, least of all my great great grandfather, Dasher VI, but he's 102 now, and the rest of the family is just glad he's found something else to complain about and stopped grumbling about how his son wasn't called Dasher VII.

There have been two female Rudolphs to lead the sleigh ride so far; Dazzler, the current Rudolph, and her mother Gleam before her, but that's different. No one messes with the Rudolph (well, except the other red-nosed siblings in their family), but then great great grandad Dasher has his own complaints about them as well.

"It's a disgrace to tradition!" he growled as I entered Dasher Stable. "And what is Christmas without tradition, I ask you? Tradition is what our holiday is built on! What any holiday is built on! We do it the same way every year, as we have for nearly two centuries now! But things have been different ever since that little runt with the light-up nose came along. I don't understand how he ever..."

He either didn't hear me come in, or doesn't care that I was there, continuing with his diatribe. He didn't appear to be speaking to anyone in particular, just to himself.

It was a wonder that he hadn't given up and died already. As little as he believed in the modern Christmas and as much as the rest of us thought he had overstayed his welcome, no one knew how much Christmas Spirit he really had left in him. The oldest reindeer in history were the original eight, who had lived long enough to see Rudolph grow into his prime, though they'd stopped flying long before then, as each reindeer was allowed only twenty flights. Some said they were still around somewhere, wandering the icy tundras of the North Pole and gazing into the sky wistfully each year on Christmas Eve. Some said their ghosts haunted the stables. I began to wonder how long my great great grandfather would haunt me...