Where Did Rudolph Come From and Where Has He Been?

Where did Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer come from and where has he been? Well this is a very interesting question. The reason is, that depending on whether the answer is fictional or reality. How about we cover both of these areas.

It is said that originally there were two places that the story of the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer came about. In the colder and harder time of 1939 and the great depression, a young couple and their child were suffering some unbelievable grief. The reason for this was they young man Robert May’s wife was bed ridden and dying from cancer.

This was especially hard because their little girl did not understand why her mother was so different than her friend’s mothers. Her mother had been bed ridden for the most of two years. Which, not only was a major cause for emotional stress, but also nearly diminished all of their savings and money.

So when the night came on that Christmas Eve that Robert May’s daughter asked the question “Why” he needed a way to explain to his daughter that not all of us were the same. In fact there are reasons we are sometimes very different. This is when the story of Rudolph came about.

Now when you look at the other end of this stick, you will see that the character Rudolph was created for a very different reason. He was an assignment for Robert May from his employer Montgomery Ward. They needed a new and original idea for the coloring books their Santa’s give out each year at Christmas time.

When you read the actual story, you can see that Rudolph came along in the nick of time. Here is how he was born in the fictional world. There was a year where a reindeer was born with a rather large red nose. Through that year he was teased, mocked and even separated because of his differences. However, one Christmas Eve when the fog was so thick, Santa was at a loss because he did not know how they would be able to see for their yearly trip to the children around the world. Well, that is when Rudolph became a hero. This was because of his differences instead of in spite of his differences.

The idea was that the little girl could see that all of the creatures of the world are created differently and we all have our unique purpose. Sometimes more differences are harder than others to understand and accept. However, the idea is there.

So now that we know where Rudolph came from, lets look at where he has been. He has been through the decades in and out of every nation, home and child’s mind. At least that was in most cases.
The original coloring book character made it to music, books, television, and even the big screen. The story may have changed a little here and there. Even the character has changed over the years. However, the main idea has remained the same. Though Rudolph was a little different, he was important because of his differences.

You can look back at the history of Rudolph and see that the growth and popularity came with a long period of changes. The main thing being that the story touched the hearts and souls of all of us, because in some way we are all different. This is where Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer came from, and it will be interesting over the next few decades to see where he is going to go.