Reindeer, Lapland, Finland Dec. 23, 2025

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.

© Roberto Moiola/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Ive got a lot of problems with you penguins!
Dec. 23, 2023Festivus
Dec. 23, 2024Celebrating Festivus

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov. 5, 2025Peña Roya beech forest, Moncayo Natural Park, Aragon, Spain
Sep. 30, 2024Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
Among the most photographed in the Rockies
Dec. 25, 2023Christmas Day
Oct. 26, 2023Schönbrunn Palace Park, Vienna, Austria
Black sands in a tropical paradise
Where is this majestic museum?
Dec. 6, 2023Computer Science Week
A day for giving
Apr. 30, 2024Cheetah in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Apr. 19, 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
Jan. 6, 2025Flooded crypt, Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna, Italy
Small but mighty
Get in tune with International Jazz Day
Feb. 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
Jun. 26, 2024Banggai cardinalfish with sea anemone
Jun. 9, 2024Bardenas Reales Biosphere Reserve and Natural Park, Navarra, Spain
Oct. 2, 2025Oxbow Bend on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States
Dec. 25, 2024Merry Christmas!
Apr. 12, 2024Arches National Park, Utah, USA
Jan. 8, 2024Bernina Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland
On the open ocean road
The largest gypsum dune field
Oct. 22, 2023Astoria-Megler Bridge, Oregon
Apr. 27, 2025Coastal redwoods in Redwood National and State Parks, California, United States
Jul. 15, 2024Marine Day, Japan
May 21, 2025International Tea Day
Jan. 6, 2026Nuuk, Greenland
Sep. 6, 2025Rufous hummingbird
May 27, 2025Mona Vale rockpool, Sydney, Australia