Today is Christmas, and about this time folks in the New World may be thinking about breakfast. So to greet everyone reading this, here is a Russian Christmas card from before 1917, featuring Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and his granddaughter Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden):

On TV at this time of year, we see a lot of reindeer, and we learn that during the winter it is mostly the females that keep their antlers.

Why do female reindeer grow antlers? - Discover Wildlife

This feature does not seem to be unique to reindeer though. Especially at supermarket checkouts, the operators, mostly ladies, are also sprouting antlers. But here is a remarkable observation which has just come my way from Taiwan, which illustrates this phenomenon most forcefully:

Merry Christmas, all!

Old NID
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