It's the most wonderful time of the year. I truly adore the holidays. It really brings out the collector in everyone. We patiently wait for Thanksgiving to pass to drag out our boxes of holiday decorations, memories, and collectibles. There are many Christmas things I keep from year to year, bird ornaments, music boxes and deer to name a few.
Over the years I have had many deer come and go. Some of my favorites included a flocked deer wearing leg warmers (it was the 80's), a mother an child deer pair, and a beautiful white celluloid deer my mom gave just a few years ago. When I was living in Oakland, my roommate liked to decorate with deer all year long. She had a great set of brass deer on display.
The popularity of deer as a Christmas symbol comes from the reindeer we know as "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixin, Comet, Cuipd, Donder and Blitzen." These are characters from the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas." The poem, also known as "The Night Before Christmas," was written by Clement Clarke Moore. It is largely responsible for Santa Clause, his sleigh, his reindeer, the toys, and really the whole American idea of Santa and his part in the Christmas story.
Reindeer also know as Caribu, are wide spread in North America and also some Arctic regions. Though numerous in population, some subspecies are rare and in some instances extinct. In the story of Santa Clause and his mighty flying reindeer the deer are mythical or fantasy.
This year I will proudly display my deer and embrace Christmas, embrace nature, embrace poetry and embrace all those wonderful memories of Christmas past.
All the deer you see here can be added to your collection, they are available on Etsy. Thank you Etsy sellers for the use of your grand photographs!
what a great little collection of deer, I am honored to be a part of this. I have quite of few of them in my personal collection and leave them out for the winter. love your collections series
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