In the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” eight reindeer pull Santa Claus’s sleigh.
The poem, commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” was first published anonymously in 1823 and is generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. It names Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem as the reindeer drawing the sleigh.
The spellings of the final two names later changed in many versions to Donner and Blitzen. Those alterations helped create the familiar modern list of eight reindeer. Rudolph is not part of the 1823 poem; he was introduced more than a century later in a 1939 promotional story written for Montgomery Ward.
Thus, the poem’s original team contains eight reindeer, while many modern illustrations and songs show nine when Rudolph is included. The distinction explains why both numbers appear in Christmas references.