# Angels: Santa's sleigh pulled by...Karibu? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 25, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806 "2002-12-25T02:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/1 "2002-12-25T02:32:02Z")
My fedora is off to CK Dexter Haven for his extensive and fascinating Staff Report on Angels. [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mangels.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mangels.html) He revealed that the name and description of _cherubim_ come from the Assyrian or the Akkadian people, who called them “karibu.” (I’m avoiding the jump to “Cajun” for some reason.) Anyway, Mrs. Nott and I were reading that part together. She said, "Karibu?! Is that like _reindeer?_ " Well, perhaps. The history of Angelogy, as Dex explains, is riddled with cultural cross-pollenation. It’s not a big jump from Karibu to caribou to reindeer, is it? Is it completely off the map to suppose that a Christian Saint’s sleigh could be drawn by angels? Nott, who had an angel installed atop his house ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/2 "2002-12-26T03:44:19Z")
> **[Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/)** > > The dictionary by Merriam-Webster is America's most trusted online dictionary for English word definitions, meanings, and pronunciation. #wordsmatter > [@](#): > > Main Entry: car¡¤i¡¤bou > Pronunciation: 'kar-&-"b¨¹ > Function: noun > Inflected Form(s): plural -bou or -bous > Etymology: Canadian French, from Micmac ¦Ãalipu > Date: circa 1665 > > : a large gregarious deer (Rangifer tarandus) of Holarctic taiga and tundra that usually has palmate antlers in both sexes – used especially for one of the New World; called also reindeer Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me, to get from an Assyrian angel to a French-Canadian _yalipu_ to a mush-mouth American _caribou_. > [@](#): > > Nott, who had an angel installed atop his house So, what, you called an angel installer and had that done? How much they charge for that sort of thing? Does it protect against lightning, too, or just bad juju? _snerk_ ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/3 "2002-12-26T04:58:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > > So, what, you called an angel installer and had that done? How much they charge for that sort of thing? Does it protect against lightning, too, or just bad juju? > > _snerk_ \*\* Actually, **Duck Duck Goose,** it was immensely more complicated than that. An old friend of mine killed his estranged wife in my house in September of 1992, while my wife and I were out of town for the evening. A few weeks later, I was pretty frazzled, and willing to grasp at straws. A friend suggested we have the house blessed. I thought, “It couldn’ hoit,” and I called Fr. Justin Belitz. I’m not a Catholic, but Fr. Justin had taught a class I took, and I figured he’d be more into a blessing ritual than a protestant guy would. He said some prayers, sprinkled some holy water around, and as an unexpected lagniappe, he installed a guardian angel. I don’t think about the angel much. I picture him standing on the roof, leaning on the chimney, doing crossword puzzles. Oddly enough, the blessing took place on Hallow’e’en of that year, and the ritual was interrupted by children in costume. I didn’t get any documentation with the angel. I don’t know about lightning protection or diversion of bad juju. It’s hard to get a statistical perspective on such rare phenomena. I don’t know if he’s an employee or an independant contractor. I never thought about that stuff until you mentioned it. Heck, I don’t even have a Social Security Number for the angel. –Nott, the worried homeowner ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/4 "2002-12-26T13:52:49Z")
And you took a guardian angel instead of trying to authenticate the ghost? OK, seriously, I know the feeling, we had a guy commit suicide in our garage. I never thought of getting a guardian angel in, though, we just occasionally leave chocolate out for the ghost. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/5 "2002-12-26T16:24:39Z")
Part of the prayers dealt with shuffling the victim’s soul off to heaven, and getting the killer to find redemption. We’ve never had any occurances that indicate a ghostly presence. If she’s here, she keeps to herself. –Nott ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/6 "2002-12-26T17:29:53Z")
Kewl. Hey, huccome the Catholics get a lock on all the neat stuff? I’m trying to picture you telling your Protestant minister that you were weirded out by the fact of this killing. He’d have suggested that you get some counseling, not simply gone over to your house, matter-of-factly performed an exorcism, and thrown in a free guardian angel. \<\< wondering what language the documentation would have been written in \>\> ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/7 "2002-12-27T00:26:42Z")
Every church sect has its own style, **Duck Duck Goose.** My parents routinely took me to our local Presbyterian church, where the minister wore a black robe with a sash over his shoulders denoting his doctoral degree. His style carried a lot of that deadly boring pomp, too. I quit going to church and had my name removed from its membership list when I was in my twenties, so I really had no Protestant minister when my house was sullied. Fr. Justin was the only minister I really knew at the time. The ritual was a great comfort at the time, as were the coupla visits to a local shrink who specialized in victims of violence. I’m not a Catholic, and maybe if I was, it would have meant more to me. I dunno. Garrison Keillor said last week, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. You can sleep in a garage, but it doesn’t make you a Chevrolet, does it?” –Nott ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/8 "2003-01-04T12:32:07Z")
Exorcism is not just for catholics. There is a growing exorcism movement, especially in the evangelical christians: Baptist, Charismatics, and Pentecostal groups. The book _American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty_, by Michael Cuneo, studies the American beliefs in demon possession and expulsion. From a review in the recent edition of _Skeptical Enquirer_ magazine. > [@](#): > > Although his opening chapters focus mostly on exorcism as a Roman Catholic ritual, Cuneo is quick to disabuse readers of the common assumption that the task of expelling demons is limited to priests… Cuneo is also careful to make sure the reader understands that although Protestant deliverance ministry and the resurgent Catholic rite of exorcism are essentially grass-root practices, the renewed popular belief can be credited almost exclusively to Hollywood. Review by Kevin Christopher, Public Relations Director for CSICOP. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/9 "2003-02-16T04:34:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > > \*\*Kewl. > > Hey, huccome the Catholics get a lock on all the neat stuff? … > > \*\* Well, there is the **One True Church** thing. Unbroken line of succession through Popes to Peter to Jesus to Almighty God Herself. Then there’s the two millenia of unbroken history and tradition. Not to mention obscene number of followers and influence. Also, there’s the patrimony of historical treasures, and artifacts, and relics, and confiscated Pagan talismans of incredible spiritual power that can control the minds of world leaders continents away. Not to mention VIA, the Vatican Intelligence Agency with world wide special agents and a subterranean lair housing a million cubic feet of files of every living human being (yes, they have a file on you). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Irishman_ > > **Exorcism is not just for catholics.** ## True. But can Protestant ministers bless water so that it burns the skin of vampires? Didn’t think so. Peace “We would like to announce that we have detected what was once only a theoretical subatomic particle… the _holyon_. We believe that the holyon is responsible for the transmission of the _blessing_ charge. Once an item has been blessed, a build-up of holyons creates a holiactive field of good luck.” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/10 "2003-02-20T06:42:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, there’s the patrimony of historical treasures, and artifacts, and relics, and confiscated Pagan talismans of incredible spiritual power that can control the minds of world leaders continents away. Woohoo! I want one! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/11 "2003-02-20T21:08:46Z")
You might already have one! A few years back, hundreds of thousands of ancient talismans (talismen?) were sold as “pet rocks.” How little we value the past! ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-santas-sleigh-pulled-by-karibu/144806/12 "2003-02-22T10:48:24Z")
My pet rock could control the minds of foreign leaders? Damn! Just when I need it to make Saddam surrender! Too bad I lost it in sixth grade.