Home of "Olympian" Reindeer

“…Now Dasher, now Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen … On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Vixen…”

No doubt, today Santa Claus is rounding up his herd of flying reindeer making sure they are prepared to travel around the world skipping from rooftop to rooftop, but do you know where the jolly and plump pilot goes to choose his Olympian team? Perhaps Svalbard.

Photos of Svalbard reindeer are from an article in the December 2023 issue of Smithsonian magazine entitled, “Valley of the Reindeer”.

The Archipelago of Svalbard is halfway between Norway and the North Pole, and is north of the Arctic Circle. The largest island is Spitsbergen, and the largest settlement is Longyearbyen on the west coast of Spitsbergen.

It experiences midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. At 74° north, the midnight sun lasts 99 days and polar night 84 days, while the respective figures at 81° north are 141 and 128 days. In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October to 15 February. In winter, the combination of full moon and reflective snow can give additional light.

Due to the Earth's tilt and the high latitude, Svalbard has extensive twilights. Longyearbyen sees the first and last day of polar night having seven and a half hours of twilight, whereas the perpetual light lasts for two weeks longer than the midnight sun. On the summer solstice, the sun bottoms out at 12° sun angle in the middle of the night, being much higher during night than in mainland Norway's polar light areas. However, the daytime strength of the sun remains as low as 35°.

-Wikipedia

But in a location where there is continuous twilight, how can Santa examine his reindeer? Can you imagine his anxiety? It must lead to sensory confusion.

Perpetual anticipation is good for the soul

But it's bad for the heart

It's very good for practicing self-control

It's very good for morals, but bad for morale

It's too unnerving

It's very good, though, to have things to contemplate

Perpetual anticipation's a delicate art

Aching to start

Keeping control

While falling apart

Perpetual anticipation is good

But it's bad for the heart

-Stephen Sondheim

In conclusion, if you are one of the wanderlust among us, and want Old Saint Nick as your guide, then make your plans now for next year’s roundup on the Svalbard Archipelago.

CPW