Can Santa Claus reach all of Greenland?

As Christmas Eve approaches, the excitement of anticipation begins to spread among Greenland's youngest.

They look forward to gifts, the smell of packages and the sound of little feet skipping down the stairs on Christmas morning. And we all know who is behind it: Santa Claus and his faithful sleigh team.

But how realistic is it really?

The story starts to creak at the first calculation. According to Statistics Greenland, there are 12,863 children and young people between 0 and 16 years of age. They live scattered across a country that stretches from Siorapaluk in the north to Tasiilaq in the east and Narsarmijit in the south. It is a logistical cabal of dimensions – even for a man with a magical full beard.

And if we calculate the weight of the gifts kindly: five kilos per child. That amounts to approximately 65 tons of Christmas presents that the reindeer will have to fly, drag or conjure over rocks, fjords and ice caps. All within five to six hours.

Here you might think that the reindeer are superheroes. But AG decided to ask an actual expert.

Winter frost prevents

A researcher is presented with Christmas logistics. Her reaction is firm. Before the question is almost complete, researcher Mathilde Le Moullec from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources reaches out her hand towards the screen.

"Stop. It's not possible," she says, trying to keep her mask on.

She researches the biology of reindeer – both in Greenland and, previously, in Svalbard – and knows exactly what these majestic animals can do. And, more importantly, what they can’t do.

- Yes, we have enough of them to transport 65 tons of Christmas gifts. Approximately 130,000 reindeer in the Ameralik, Akia-Maniitsoq and Kangerlussuaq-Sisimiut areas, according to the latest counts in 2018. But then the party stops too, she says.

Why? Because the reindeer – unlike the cartoon version of Santa Claus – slow down their activities and adapt to winter.

"In winter they don't move much," she explains, and continues:

- Their GPS collars show that they stay in very small areas, often only a few hundred meters at a time. They do this to save energy - otherwise they risk simply becoming too thin and dying.

She explains that reindeer live on a tight energy budget during the winter months. They spend the autumn building up a thick layer of fat to keep them alive through months of hard frost, deep snow, ice on the ground and very little food.

- That fat layer is their survival. Every extra movement, every unnecessary step, burns valuable energy. That's why they almost go into 'eco-mode' all winter.

The scene is easy to imagine: a sleigh filled to the brim, a team of reindeer refusing to move more than a few kilometers. Santa Claus standing next to him, sighing.

A summer Christmas Eve?

If the reindeer could decide for themselves…

In the summer, the reindeer migrate more. That sounds promising – but only almost.

- They move in the same area, but almost never cross into another region, says Mathilde.

- So children in one settlement cannot expect to receive help from reindeer near another settlement.

And in East Greenland?

She laughs:

- No. The reindeer don't cross the ice sheet. That's unrealistic.

So even a summer Christmas would be geographical discrimination.

An even bigger problem arises.

- Basically, reindeer cannot pull at full gallop for a long time, she says.

According to the researcher, they will walk a short distance before stopping. They prefer to walk quietly – and usually they walk because there is a purpose to it. And for the most part, they stick to the same region their entire lives.

- In Sápmi land in the northern part of Scandinavia, the Sami use them as draft animals. But this requires that they be castrated first. It is a violent solution for delivering gifts, comes the smiling reindeer expert from the Nature Institute.

At that moment, Santa's dream falls to the ground. The sleigh must be parked.

So what about Santa Claus?

Santa Claus' workshop is located – according to all modern logistics information – in China. From there it is just under 8,500 kilometers to Nuuk in a straight line. And twice as far there and back. Even without reindeer, it would be quite a stretch to cover.

However, Mathilde Le Moullec has a proposal which is both technical as ethical:

- Buy locally. I do it myself. Handicrafts or recycling. That way we don't put unnecessary strain on the dear reindeer or the climate.

Her point is both practical and poetic: Christmas joy comes not from the weight of gifts, but from the thought behind them. And the climate – and the reindeer – are allowed to survive another winter without being forcibly discharged like modern package taxis.

But perhaps the point is different.

Because even though children believe that gifts arrive on reindeer at full gallop through the polar night, adults know something that is almost as magical:

That Christmas joy is not about how the gifts arrive – but that they do.

The rest? That's for Santa Claus and the logistics gods in China to figure out.