What on earth possessed the unknown author to portray Santeclaus in a reindeer sleigh? St Nicholas had always come on a flying horse or wagon, the Christ Child and assorted European gift-bringers always walked, sometimes with a scary helper, sometimes with a donkey.
The reindeer, sleigh, and fur clothes indicate someone from a northerly clime — no one had ever thought that was a necessary attribute before — but it leads straight to a sleigh pulled by 8 reindeer, a setting in the North Pole, and an army of industrious elves