How did the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer come to be?
Every year as Christmas comes to town many children all over the world are drawn to the story of Rudolph, the famed reindeer with the red nose who accompanies Santa on his sleigh to help guide the way through a very foggy Christmas Eve. While the story has been told for decades, the origin of the tale is not always clear. In fact, Rudolph is not as old as many have perhaps probably imagined.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was brought to life in 1939. The story was penned by a man named Robert L. May after he was tasked by his employer, Montgomery Ward, to create a Christmas story the retailer could hand out in booklet form to shoppers during that holiday season. May had a reputation for his children stories and limericks, and the 34-year-old copywriter went to work on crafting a tale. Ultimately he decided on basing the story on an animal and drew inspiration from The Ugly Duckling and his own childhood experiences, according toSnopes, a website that examines urban legends and separates fact from fiction.
The story most of us are familiar with is not the same version as the original. For instance, Rudolph did not live at the North Pole, he was discovered while Santa was delivering presents on that foggy night and recruited his help once he noticed a glow coming from a window.
There are at least two versions circulating on the Internet as to how Rudolph came to be. The alternate version tells a tale of May, a man grieving as his wife was dying of cancer, writing the story to console his 4-year-old daughter Barbara. The alternate version indicates a manager of Montgomery Ward "caught wind" of the story and paid May to obtain the rights to print his story, according toAbout.com.
In reality, the employer-based assignment is the real one, although May's wife was ill at the time he was tasked to come up with a Christmas story. However, May's wife died after he had begun working on Rudolph. According tohis own words in 1976, he finished the story after her death.
While there are a few different versions relating to the legend of Rudolph, there are also some fun facts. For instance, that first year of publish, a whopping 2.4 million copies of the story were distributed by Montgomery Ward—by 1946, 6 million copies had been distributed.
Additionally, did you know when penning Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the beloved children's character was almost named Reginald or Rollo? According to theDaily Mail, May had considered other a number of other names, such as Rodney, Roddy, Romeo, Reggy and Roland as well.
Another lesser known fact was after May created the story of Rudolph, his employer was concerned over the image of the red nose, which was typically associated with drinking and drunkenness, being showcased during Christmas. May was later able to convince his bosses after a colleague from the store's art department submitted a sketch, reports Snopes.
May didn't originally get the copyright to Rudolph since it was commissioned by his employer at the time. Over the years after his wife's passing, the family struggled financially. In 1947, Montgomery Ward turned ownership of the copyright of the Rudolph story over to him, and it was then he was able to collect royalties on his wildly popular tale. May's brother-in-law later set the story to music and this was when the story truly rose to spectacular fame, according toHistory.com.
Over the decades the now 75-year-old reindeer has brought enjoyment to millions of people through songs, movies and television specials, many of which are aired every year to date. While these stories are a bit different from May's original creation, they are all based on that story he wrote back in 1939.
