What I have long suspected can now be confidently confirmed: Santa Claus is a cowboy.

If you think about it, only a cowboy would have the skill to control the reins of a nine-reindeer hitch and maneuver around the circumference of the globe in a single night. In addition, only a cowboy would have the guts (or lack of brainpower) to even attempt such a feat.

If you still doubt my assertion, consider this: Neither a cowboy nor Santa is ever seen without being dressed in both boots and a hat. I’d even be willing to wager that if we could ever get a close-up shot of Santa’s belt buckle, we’d find out that he’d placed in a tie-down elf-roping contest in his younger days … or participated in a celebrity team-roping event later in his life.

Only Santa Claus or a cowboy would be willing to work all night long for nothing more than something to eat and drink. We know old Kringle prefers milk and cookies, and I can attest that cowboys can also be bribed with those, if there’s nothing a bit stronger available.

Everyone knows that Mr. Claus loves children, and in turn, they adore him. By the same token, I have never seen a real cowboy who didn’t have the time to joke and tease with a child who wanted to grow up and be just like him. There’s something about the jolly old man and the larger-than-life cowboy that children of all ages just seem to gravitate toward.

We all know Santa Claus has names for all of his reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph are known by almost everyone in the world. It could also be said that almost everyone knows Trigger, Silver, Scout, Fury, Buttermilk, Champion and, of course, Mr. Ed. There are just too many similarities between the two icons to be overlooked.

Of course, some would argue that another similarity between St. Nick and a cowboy is that they only work one day each year. But we all know that’s not true because Santa has to work year-round to get all those toys ready to deliver, just as a cowboy works long days and nights all year long just to take those calves to town once or twice a year.

In conclusion, I’ll argue that the famous Santa Claus phrase of “Ho, ho, ho” is only the shortened version of a cowboy’s “Howdy, howdy, howdy!”

So, whether you live in North Pole, Alaska; Santa Claus, Ind.; Noel, Mo.; or Cut and Shoot, Texas, everyone in this cowboy outfit is wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Crownover farms in Missouri.