expotition rudolphina: capturing the shining light, shopping for ms. claus

let’s start with the announcement that rudolph and “his” reindeer friends — are FEMALE! who knew? well — the scientists privy to the fact that only female reindeer keep their antlers in winter had a pretty good clue. in an effort of full disclosure one expert mentioned that castrated male deer also get to keep their antlers, so that makes them eligible to pull the sleigh, some side perk i guess?

also new but not surprising information to me is that santa, rudi and rest of the crew are culturally appropriated from the deer mother of winter solstice who, on the longest night of the year, took flight to bring the life-giving light of the sun back to the land in her horns. myth goes on to confirm that riding with her in the sleigh was the winter goddess of the solstice. check out Danielle Prohom Olson’s website gathervictoria.com for more about this and the actual female reindeer shamans whose garb is distinctively familiar to that which we now describe for father christmas. olson says “ the Deer Mother still lives in our Christmas cards, seasonal decorations and tales of Santa’s flying reindeer. And while we may not recognize her, I believe some deep,old part of ourselves still remembers the original “Mother Christmas” who brought light and new life to the world.”

i mention these revelations as it makes so much sense to me now why every year i am obsessed to put reindeer antlers and a red nose on whatever vehicle i’m driving. this year was no different — in fact — it was perhaps the strongest instinct to date as i stopped mid road trip from columbus, ohio to chicago, illinois (yes, flights to ireland are cheaper from o’hare) to find a new pair of antlers since mine are buried somewhere in storage. christmas magic being real, it was no surprise that ella fitsgeralds’s version of rudolph played on the radio after getting back in the car once the new antlers and nose were attached. upon landing here in eire, i found another set of antlers and red nose for our rental car — along with a string of reindeer w red light up noses to adorn the inside of our chariot. suffice to say that the spirit of christmas road-tripping is strong in this one.

now properly adorned, rudolphina and i went out to find some bits and bobs to take back home for christmas…which means heading out to one of the best stores for true irish gifts, mr. joyce’s craft shop and art gallery in the heart of connemara country. this 2 hour road trip in each direction might seem extreme to ohioans and irish alike — except that this store is THE PLACE to find the best connemara jewelry from the joyce family who have been mining it for seven generations. as mentioned in a previous post, this site is the home base for mr. mark joyce, artist, author, entrepreneur and sculptor of my BFF Conn the Giant of Connemara. despite the discrepancies between google’s assessment of store hours and the actuality of the store’s winter schedule, it was once again my lucky day to be able to meet up with my giant and mark joyce — both greeting me with an irish welcome.

even if i hadn’t been able to connect directly, the day trip itself was worthwhile. all of eire is beautiful but connemara country is particularly stunning. this specific day was filled with sunshine, which is a rare sight on these shores at this time of year. so not a goddess of the solstice in a sleigh pulled by the deer mother, yet rudolphina and i are certainly bringing back opportunities to bask in the beauty of all that is reflected by the light. enjoy!