The cunning, white fox is steeped in folklore. During the Yuletide celebration of the winter solstice, Odin, white-bearded and cloaked in blue, would fly on the back of his white, eight-footed horse Sleipnir, delivering gifts to children of the North. Santa Claus himself has Scandinavian origins, in part descended from the pagan deity Odin of Norse myth. Nicholas” (popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas”). Santa’s eight reindeer were introduced to the world in the famous 1823 poem, “A Visit from St. Another folktale tells of the sun god’s daughter, who brings a dowry of reindeer to the Nordic people after marrying a Sami man.

One of their traditional stories describes a glowing, golden-horned reindeer, who, if caught by a hunter, will cause chaos to engulf the world. Many of the indigenous Sami people of Lapland are semi-nomadic reindeer herders. Caribou, the larger cousin of Eurasian reindeer, live in North America and Greenland. One of the oldest Inuit deities, the Caribou Mother, is an all-encompassing figure who holds the people and caribou on her giant body. Herds of caribou have sustained the Inuit people for centuries, providing them with nourishing food and warm clothing. Perhaps it is the human likeness the animal displays when it walks upright that inspire the stories of this revered white bear. Inuit traditional stories also make reference to polar bears who transform into men, shedding their thick fur upon entering their winter dens. The castle and prince vanish, and the maiden sets off on the long journey north in search of her white bear. Now he must marry the troll princess, who lives in an ice palace east of the sun and west of the moon. If only she had lived with him for one year as a white bear, he tells her, he would have been free of his curse. Drops of melted tallow fall on his skin, and he awakens with a cry. One night curiosity overcomes her, and striking a candle, she shines light upon his face, only to find a golden-haired prince lying asleep. The maiden goes with the creature to an enchanted castle, and each evening when darkness falls, the bear transforms into a man and climbs into bed next to her. In the Norwegian fairytale, “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” a white bear comes to the door of a peasant, asking for his youngest daughter in exchange for wealth and riches. Many tales and legends tell of the great, white bear, who wanders the Arctic realm.

Owl and moon story