Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert Lewis May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus’s reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. Though he initially receives ridicule for his nose as a fawn, the brightness of his nose is so powerful that it illuminates the team’s path through harsh winter weather. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr., described Rudolph’s story as “the fantasy story made to order for American children: each child has the need to express and receive approval for his or her individuality and/or special qualities. Rudolph’s story embodies the American Dream for the child, written large because of the cultural significance of Christmas.” Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward, the department store. The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, LP and has been adapted and shaped in numerous forms including a popular song by Johnny Marks, the iconic 1964 stop-motion animated television special and its two sequels from Rankin/Bass Productions. Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Chicago-based Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money. Robert May considered naming the reindeer “Rollo” or “Reginald” before deciding upon using the name “Rudolph”.   May said his daughter liked reindeer, and he said he was treated like Rudolph as a child.  In its first year of publication, Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of Rudolph’s story.  The story is written as a poem in anapestic tetrameter, the same meter as “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”).  Publication and reprint rights for the book Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are controlled by Pearson PLC. While May was pondering how best to craft a Christmas story about a reindeer, while staring out his office window in downtown Chicago, a thick fog from Lake Michigan blocked his view—giving him a flash of inspiration. “Suddenly I had it!” he recalled. “A nose! A bright red nose that would shine through fog like a spotlight, The cultural significance of a red nose has changed since the story’s publication. In 1930s popular culture, a bright red nose was closely associated with chronic alcoholism and drunkards, so the story idea was initially rejected. May asked his illustrator friend at Montgomery Ward, Denver Gillen, to draw “cute reindeer”, using zoo deer as models. The alert, bouncy character Gillen developed convinced management to support the idea.