From Rudolph’s red nose to mince pie happiness: The science of Christmas explained

When you think of things associated with Christmas, science may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, science is playing as much of a role as the North Pole elves in the festive season and is offering many answers to age-old Yuletide questions like ‘Who is the real Santa?’ and ‘Can you really start celebrating Christmas in November?’.

The relationship between Christmas and science stretches back centuries, with Victorians in England fascinated by the ever-progressing advancements offered by the world of science. Scientific presents for children were all the rage, Christmas essays celebrated new discoveries, and even pantomimes were taken over by science. Perhaps the special relationship between Christmas and science started back in 1642, when Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day – though that is seemingly only a coincidence.

Nowadays, the obsession with science at Christmas has somewhat waned with scientific festivities often limited to ‘Christmas lectures’, like those at the Royal Institution or, a little closer to home, at the Warwick Arts Centre. Nevertheless, festive scientific discoveries are not a thing of the past – they are very much still merry and bright.

Take Santa Claus, for example – does he have a distinctive face? According to children running up to see him in his grotto, yes. Surprisingly, according to scientists, also yes. Research conducted by Dr Thomas Wright and his colleagues found that Santa’s face is distinguishable from “other adult and elderly bearded men”. Using ID software similar to that found on smartphones, the scientists found that Father Christmas does indeed have distinct facial features, from his “twinkled eyes” to a “beard as white as snow”, which means he can be easily identified in a line-up. It also means that those wanting to impersonate the jolly old man in order to steal presents this Christmas should watch out.

Reindeer travel around 50,000 miles on the big night – the equivalent of flying from London to New York over 14 times back-to-back

Whilst the research may at first seem trivial, and perhaps not exactly groundbreaking, the researchers said that the findings raise important questions about the use of facial phenotyping in clinical settings. Facial phenotyping is used to analyse a person’s features to detect traits which may indicate a genetic disease. These developments may allow for wider use of automated facial assessments in clinical diagnoses in the future – a real Christmas gift indeed.

Talking about Christmas gifts, they certainly wouldn’t be delivered to all the children in the world without the help of Santa’s reindeer. Scientists have estimated that the reindeer travel around 50,000 miles on the big night – the equivalent of flying from London to New York over 14 times back-to-back. All that travel puts them way above other animals in terms of extreme migration, with the Arctic Tern – a very well-travelled bird – clocking up only 60,000 miles a year. Still, the reindeer don’t always have the clearest path on Christmas night. Dr Jason Chapman has found that trillions of insects migrate – somewhat incognito – across southern England every year, with a combined biomass of over 20,000 reindeer. Perhaps the insects are helping the reindeer with the present delivery, after all.

It seems as though Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and friends are actually female

Regardless of who are helping the reindeer on Christmas night, it seems as though Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and friends are actually female. Male reindeer shed their antlers during winter, so it only seems to make sense that Santa’s hard-working animal friends are all female. Female reindeer also enter winter with around 50% body fat, compared to males who carry only 5%, meaning they can stay warmer for longer on cold December nights.

Oh, and Rudolph’s red nose? It’s probably real. Compared to humans, reindeer have a 25% higher concentration of blood vessels in their noses which can sometimes make their noses look red. A study at the University of Brighton also found that Rudolph may have an adaptive trait of bioluminescence, a quality usually seen in fireflies and deep-sea organisms in order to catch prey.

Even if some grinches tell you otherwise… decorating early for Christmas can bring extra joy to the winter months

It’s all well and good considering the science of Santa and his reindeer, but all of that would be pointless if people were left without a good dose of festive cheer. For those who love to blast out Mariah Carey on the first stroke of midnight in November, there is good news, even if some Grinches tell you otherwise. Researchers have found that decorating early for Christmas can bring extra joy to the winter months. Psychologist Deborah Serani confirmed that Christmas can indeed come early, saying: “Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone. It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness”. The bright, colourful lights boost energy levels and happiness through chromotherapy, whilst the ambience that decorations can bring to the environments around us can put a smile on our face.

Christmas lights aren’t the only thing to bring festive cheer either. A study by the University of Denmark found that images of mince pies can activate a network of brain regions, which control a person’s emotions. As Christmas-loving participants in the study often related these Christmassy images to positive experiences of the festive period, the neural activation brought them ‘Christmas cheer’, with the brain almost tricking the person to think that the image of the mince pie was, in itself, a sign of joy and celebration.

So, whilst Christmas and science may not seem like a match made under the mistletoe, it’s obvious that scientists have always been hard at work solving the conundrums of Christmas past, present, and future. Perhaps this year scientists will find the answer to the magnum opus of Christmas, though – who really does eat all the Bounties in a box of Celebrations?