The character of Santa Claus is largely based on St. Nicholas of Myra and Sinterklaas of Dutch lore. Both of those figures traveled via a noble, white steed. Yet in some Western cultures, particularly America, Santa Claus travels the world on Christmas Eve delivering gifts in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer.
In 1812, American author Washington Irving refers to St. Nicholas as "— riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children" in the revised version of A Complete History of New York written under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker. Yet no mention is made of what propels the wagon. So where did the story of flying reindeer originate?
The first known written account of reindeer in association with the legend of Santa Claus occurred in 1821. That year, New York printer William Gilley published a sixteen page booklet titled A New Year's Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve Number III : The Children's Friend by an anonymous author. In the book, reindeer are introduced into the Santa Claus narrative: