Merry Christmas! Dec 25, 2023

Merry Christmas!

Dashing through the snow on our homepage today, reindeer, or caribou as they are known here in North America, have been synonymous with Christmas for two centuries. American writer Clement Clarke Moore is credited with popularizing them as Santa"s helpers in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," first published in 1823. And no wonder Santa picked them. With two layers of fur and eyes that adapt to the Arctic"s shifting light levels, reindeer are very versatile. You likely won"t see them fly, but you might find a herd migrating from tundra to forest in the North Polar Region, North America, Northern Europe, or Siberia. Their hooves can expand or shrink according to ground conditions, keeping their heavy frame stable on soft ground in summer, ice in winter, and steep rooftops at Christmas. If you"re celebrating Christmas today, we wish you a merry one.

© Michael Quinton/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Dec 25, 2018Happy holidays!
Dec 25, 2019Merry and bright
Dec 25, 2020Big dreams require a big sleigh
Dec 25, 2021Merry Christmas
Dec 25, 2022Merry Christmas!
Dec 25, 2024Merry Christmas!
Dec 25, 2025Merry Christmas!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 2, 2022Pamukkale, Turkey
Jun 28, 2020Keep shining
Nov 1, 2020Native American Heritage Month
Jul 14, 2020Under Parisian skies
Oct 24, 2025Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Aug 4, 2018‘Fringe’ takes center stage as Edinburgh celebrates the arts
Nov 16, 2021Glenfinnan Viaduct
Jan 16, 2019Up on the glacier
Feb 19, 2022Mount Logan in Yukon, Canada
Feb 16, 2025Happy World Whale Day!
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France
Dec 8, 2025Christmas lights in Domaso, Lake Como, Italy
Jan 25, 2018Sami lavvu structures, Finnmark, Norway
Jul 25, 2024Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Feb 20, 2019An unlikely friendship in the wild
Oct 6, 2025Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
Mar 18, 2019Next stop, Tofino
Dec 10, 2023Sand dunes in the Sahara, Algeria
Nov 18, 2023Polar bear season in Manitoba
Apr 4, 2019Taking the forest to the cloud
Nov 1, 2018Celebrating the Day of the Dead
Jan 9, 2025Remembering Jimmy Carter
May 30, 2023Playa del Amor, Marietas Islands, Mexico
Jun 19, 2020Celebrating freedom
Oct 2, 2022Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Feb 6, 2023Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
May 5, 2024Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Dec 8, 2022The Cathedral of Florence, Italy
Aug 6, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii
Sep 13, 2020Super sandy Sweet 16