Reindeer, Lapland, Finland Dec 23, 2025

Reindeer, Lapland, Finland

Few creatures evoke the magic of the holidays quite like the reindeer. Also known as caribou, they are the spirit animals of Christmas lovers—and they rock it. Sturdy and sure-footed, they"ve been pulling Santa"s sleigh ever since Clement Clarke Moore cast them in the role in his 1823 poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas." And they were born for it. Their hooves shrink in winter to expose a gripping rim, then expand in warmer months for better traction. Still not impressed? Consider this: reindeer don"t have an internal clock. Instead, their melatonin—the hormone that regulates sleep—adjusts to light and darkness, helping them stay awake through endless nights of gift delivery.

© Roberto Moiola/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 23, 2018Make your list and check it twice
Dec 23, 2019A Festivus for the rest of us
Dec 23, 2020Swimming into the season
Dec 23, 2021Festivus
Dec 23, 2022Gentoo penguins in Antarctica
Dec 23, 2023Festivus
Dec 23, 2024Celebrating Festivus

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 9, 2022Muskoxen in Dovre-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway
Nov 29, 2025Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
Jun 18, 2018Here, fishy!
Feb 14, 2024Valentines Day
Mar 3, 2018Celebrating World Wildlife Day
Feb 3, 2020The moai you know
Oct 29, 2024Great horned owl
Oct 10, 2021A shell of many colors
Aug 18, 2022Surströmming Day
Mar 10, 2020A festival of colors
Oct 10, 2019A star blows a bubble
Mar 13, 2023National Napping Day
Jan 17, 2024Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
Mar 20, 2020Heron lies the Salton Sea
Jan 29, 2022Brain coral
Mar 25, 2024Happy Holi!
Dec 1, 2020Giving Tuesday
Nov 20, 2021World Children s Day
Feb 27, 2020Three cheers for polar bears!
May 19, 2021A path lain with petals
Mar 5, 2024Bangkok, Thailand
Dec 3, 2024Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Dec 19, 2025Bormio, Lombardy, Italy
Dec 11, 2021Everest s shadow on the Himalayas
May 26, 2021Behold the blood moon
Jul 24, 2025Happy Cousins Day!
Nov 20, 2025World Childrens Day
Apr 4, 2025National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC
Jul 1, 2025Happy Canada Day!
Dec 12, 2018The story of the poinsettia