48 Weeks Until Christmas

Hi friends! There are just 48 weeks until Christmas, as of today. This week marks a very important time at the North Pole. The reindeer are leaving, not to return until some time in the fall.

It is always a different kind of event. We do so many things with ceremony and celebration in our countdown to Christmas. But when the reindeer leave it’s always something of a surprise.

It just happens. There is no countdown. No event. No nothing. They just wake up one day and they start to leave. Small groups begin flying out early in the morning and then the groups grow bigger until the sky here is just filled with reindeer – all heading south.

There are no meetings. No announcements. Nothing. They just leave.

Some think it is kind of sad. But I don’t. I’m coming to understand more and more the heart of Santa’s reindeer. They are all sensitive souls.

I have learned to be excited for them. The reindeer love this day when they leave the North Pole to return to their homelands.

Some are anxious to return. They want to see their families. They want to be alone. They want to see once again where they come from.

Do Santa’s reindeer train? Is this vacation time for them? What’s it like for them to leave the North Pole?

Santa’s reindeer never really stop working. Whether they are at the North Pole, where they are fed and taken care of, or out in the wild, where it is up to them to take care of themselves, they keep the Spirit of Christmas up by staying fit and working on the skills they need in order to be, well, Santa’s reindeer.

Leaving and going home is an important part of their routine.

Where do they go?

Well, like people reindeer are from all corners of the world. Some reindeer go back to where they were born – usually in mountains or high valleys. Others migrate towards reindeer ranches that Santa operates all over the world.

Santa does not direct them anywhere. They go wherever they want, they eat whatever they want, and they do whatever they want. They leave the North Pole together and they come home together in the fall.

Of course, like my reindeer, Trixie, there are some reindeer who are from the North Pole and they stay here. But this time of year is different even for those reindeer.

Some never leave the comfort of Santa’s stables, others leave and we don’t see them around much.

For Trixie, I’m not sure what this “off season” will bring. Her trainers tell me to expect her to be a little different this year. She is an adult now. Her heart will be exploring some new things this year and I have been told to let her do what she wants.

I don’t know how to feel about that. To me, she’ll always be my baby. I see her as the cute little thing she was just a few years ago.

But they are right. She’s a big powerful force now. There’s a grace and presence to her I cannot explain. She has a kind of quiet dignity that just comes to Santa’s reindeer as they grow in stature. She has gained a lot of respect in the reindeer community at the North Pole.

This is a happy occasion for the reindeer. So I’m not going to be sad. The reindeer leaving for many, including me, is just the beginning of Christmas at the North Pole.