Telegraph

Is Santa flying high on magic mushrooms? By Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent (Filed: 14/12/2001)

FATHER Christmas's magical ability to girdle the world and drop presents at every child's home was explained in earthy terms yesterday.

Like reindeer herdsmen in Lapland, he could be hallucinating on fly-agaric mushrooms, said Dr Ian Edwards, head of education at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

Dr Edwards told a seminar that the story of flying reindeer spread south to central Europe in the 19th century. It originated with the Sami people of Lapland, one of the oldest indigenous cultures in the world.

"They used to feed red and white fly-agaric mushrooms to their reindeer, then drink the animals' urine.

"The idea was to receive the drug in a safer and more processed form. Drinking the urine would give them a high similar to taking LSD.

"One of the results was that they thought they and their reindeer were flying through space, looking down on the world."

Dr Edwards also suggested that the red coat of Father Christmas could have been inspired by the bright colour of the mushroom.

Dr Edwards said the behaviour of the Sami was described in a museum in Lapland and could date from pre-Christian times. He understood that the practice had diminished in recent years.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 2001