Ho, Ho, Ho

It's no wonder Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is the most famous member of Santa's team -- on top of being a skilled flyer, his nose, as his name suggests, glows bright red. This unusual variation on the reindeer nasal prominence could have all kinds of benefits, the most important of which would involve guiding Santa's sleigh. 

Christmas Tree Image Gallery

Reindeer crossing­
Christian Michaels/Getty Images
Could bioluminescence be the reason behind Rudolph's ruby muzzle? (See Christmas tree images.)
According to folklore, if the weather's ever bad on Christmas Eve, Santa's cleared for flight -- by the FAA, for that matter -- thanks to the brightness of Rudolph's nose.

Video Gallery: Year-round Santa
Watch this video about "Santa House,"a place where Filipino children can visit Santa year-round.

But how does Rudolph's nose actually work? How could one reindeer create a light bright enough to lead a sleigh through darkness and inclement weather? And how could a reindeer actually develop a red nose?

Although no one may ever know for sure just how Rudolph got his unusual nose, we at HowStuffWorks have what we think is the most logical explanation for how the doe-eyed deer guides Santa's sleigh: science.

In this article, we'll look at the scientific explanations behind Rudolph's nasal beacon.

No Bull
Although Rudolph is what's called a bull -- a male reindeer -- there's a rumor that many of Santa's reindeer might be cows, or female reindeer. Why is this?

Have you ever seen pictures of Santa flying in his sleigh with his team of reindeer? If you have, you'll notice that the reindeer have fully grown antlers. The interesting thing is, though, male reindeer typically shed their antlers by early December, well before Christmas Eve. The antlers grow back in the spring, and the cycle of growth and regrowth continues. Cows keep their antlers all year long, however, so the chances that there are more females than males on Santa's sleigh are a bit higher.

This isn't to say that all of the reindeer are female and Rudolph's the only guy out there. Most males shed their antlers, but not all of them, and it's possible that a bull won't lose his antlers until after December. Accounts of Blitzen, a part of the original team of reindeer, identify him as Rudolph's father, so we know that Santa has both male and female reindeer leading his sleigh.

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