Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Christmas is a festival with a rich history. No wonder there are a large number of legends associated with it. Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, is one such legendary character that is closely linked to Christmas. It is this reindeer, with a characteristic red-nose, who leads Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. This story is a favorite among kids even to this day as it conveys a wonderful message to every child - "being different isn't so bad after all". This renowned character was first created by Robert May in 1939 and later popularized by his brother-in-law, Johnny Marks. Marks was so inspired by this story that he even came up with a song on Rudolph, which turned out to be more popular than the usual Christmas songs. Since then, there have been many songs and carols sung during Christmas in the fond memory of this red-nosed reindeer. Here's an article that gives a brief insight on the legend of this red-nosed reindeer.

The Legend Of Rudolph
Rudolph was a shy reindeer who wished to play with his peers and lead a happy life like other reindeers. However, he was different from all other reindeers and had a big, shiny, red-nose owing to which he was bullied by his peers. It was quite embarrassing for him and all his efforts at making friends were in vain. Adding to his sorrow, his family was also ashamed of him. Thus, Rudolph lived a lonely life. Since none of the other reindeers would let him become part of their games, he befriended snowman and played with him. Many days passed by and Rudolph got used to his lonely life. His story took an unusual turn on a Christmas Eve, when Santa Clause, with his legendary flying-sleigh and eight smart and handsome reindeers namely Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Vixen, got ready for his annual world tour. Santa and his reindeers were almost ready to move, with the entire reindeer community gathered there to see them off. Suddenly, a thick fog swallowed up the earth, making it impossible for Santa and his group to find chimneys and distribute toys. Helpless, Santa looked for a way out, as he could not afford to be late in distributing gifts on Christmas, and found Rudolph with his shiny red-nose, standing among the reindeers and called him. Santa asked Rudolph if he would help him distribute gifts by showing the way with his shiny nose. Overwhelmed with joy, Rudolph agreed to help Santa and guided his reindeers around the world safely. Thus, Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer became a hero in his community and went on to live in the North Pole with Santa, elves and other reindeers. After this incident, nobody bullied him or made fun of him and Rudolph got new friends also.

Popular Media Attention
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was eventually popularized via television, radio, magazines, story books etc. Johnny Marks, Bob May's brother-in-law, composed a song on Rudolph called "Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer", which became a popular carol. This song topped the charts in 1949 and recorded a sale of about 2.5 million copies in its first year and remained the number second Christmas hit until the 1980's. It was in 1944 that Rudolph appeared on screen for the first time in an animation program which was re-released in 1948 with the Rudolph song. The most popular comic book house, DC Comics published a series of 13 yearly issues titled 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' up to 1960. They also published a number of other editions called as the Limited Collectors' Edition and All New Collectors' Edition. Apart from these, the story of Rudolph was also adopted for TV in 1964 in a stop motion animation program and later, also for a movie named 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: The Movie'.

The Carol
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll go down in history!

Thus, the character of Rudolph spreads joy and hope during the Christmas season and also inspires children to overcome difficulties in life without feeling dejected.