HERSHEY, Pa. – Santa\u2019s nine reindeer have received clearance from Department of Agriculture veterinarians to embark on their Christmas Eve journey across Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Pennsylvania State Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg, and Pennsylvania Tourism Office Executive Director Kaitie Burger joined Santa Claus and his magical team of nine reindeer at Hersheypark to make the announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time of year is filled with the magic and spirit of the holidays,\u201d Secretary Redding said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPennsylvanians near and far can nestle snug in their beds knowing the reindeer are healthy and ready to take flight tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santa\u2019s nine reindeer \u2014 Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (the Pennsylvania Dutch spelling of Donner) Blitzen, and Rudolph \u2014 received the all-clear from Dr. Sarah Coburn, Alaska\u2019s state veterinarian to fly to Pennsylvania, the state Department of Agriculture said in a news release.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania State Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg and Assistant State Veterinarian Dr. Erin Luley reviewed Alaska\u2019s Certificate of Veterinary Inspection and declared the team healthy, allowing them to fly from rooftop to rooftop to deliver toys to kids, the state\u2019s agriculture department said.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s agriculture department said the certificates are required as an assurance that contagious diseases are not carried across state lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the team\u2019s long journey and sleigh full of packages,\u201d Dr. Hamberg said, \u201cSanta\u2019s reindeer have received excellent care from Santa\u2019s herd manager at the North Pole, and from ZooAmerica\u2019s team during their stay here, and they are all clear to spread joy across Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a full safety check and a little extra cocoa, I\u2019m happy to report that Santa\u2019s reindeer are officially cleared for flight,\u201d said Executive Director Kaitie Burger.<\/p>\n
\u201cPennsylvania truly shines during the holidays, and there\u2019s no better place to feel the magic of Christmas than right here in the Keystone State. From cozy small towns to the sparkle of Hersheypark, this is where festive traditions, sweet treats, and unforgettable holiday memories take flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
“For more than 40 years, Hersheypark Christmas Candylane has provided only-in-Hershey experiences that have become beloved holiday traditions,” said Quinn Bryner, Director of Public Relations for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts.<\/p>\n
“As the only amusement park to have five million lights, family rides and coasters, and all nine reindeer, we invite all Pennsylvanians to enjoy the holiday season at Hersheypark through Jan. 4, 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HERSHEY, Pa. – Santa\u2019s nine reindeer have received clearance from Department of Agriculture veterinarians to embark on their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22186,1509,28,30,29,36367,5528],"class_list":{"0":"post-68787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-christmas-eve","9":"tag-hersheypark","10":"tag-pennsylvania","11":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","12":"tag-pennsylvania-news","13":"tag-reindeer","14":"tag-santa-claus"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}