Did You See Donner and Blitzen Yesterday?

It may not have been a 'foggy Christmas Eve,' as the song goes, but there was a definite chance that some parts of southeast Minnesota may have seen both Donner and Blitzen Monday.

Now, you're probably thinking of the reindeer by those names, right? ("You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen...") That's what I first thought too. But, if you have any German heritage in you (as I do), or know any of the German language (as I most definitely don't), then perhaps you didn't know that 'donner and blitzen' mean something other than reindeer.

According to this definition, 'donner und blitzen,' in German, means thunder and lightening. And while that's not ordinarily in the forecast for southeast Minnesota during the last few days of November, we definitely had the chance for a few scattered storms in our forecast yesterday. (And a few leftover today, too.)

I'm not sure how the German phrase for thunder and lightening came to be two of the names of Santa's reindeer. And, come to think of it, I can't say we saw either donner or blitzen at our place yesterday, either.

Did you spot either donner or blitzen yesterday?