When Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer came to life. The fact is that when Rudolph came to life, there was not as much knowledge of him as there is now. It can be said that on one cold Christmas Eve night, Bob May sat down with his little girl and made the story to comfort her. However, I would not say that the growth of what was started as folklore was extremely slow. In fact, though the recognition was not immediate, it was definitely worldwide.
See, Rudolph came to life when there was a need for Santa Claus to have someone guide his sleigh. He was the ninth reindeer and was picked on because of his differences. The main difference was being his shiny red nose. It is also said that May’s little girl had asked a very hard question. “Why is my mommy so different” May’s wife was dying from cancer. This was apparent to his child in some ways, but he needed a way to explain this to his child. So some say this is how the first story line of Rudolph came about.
In 1934 the Montgomery Ward Corp employed Robert L May. He was instructed to create a fictional character for the Rudolph Company LP. So he designed this little reindeer to guide the way of Santa Clause.
The original idea was considered more of a fake idea, rather than folklore. Many scholars had some problems with the thought that a reindeer could have a shiny enough nose to guide an entire sleigh, reindeers and Santa Claus.
Really they probably did not believe in Santa Claus. That is likely their loss though. Personally I am glad that Rudolph was able to have his oddities, in order to guide Santa through the fog and the pollution of now days especially. The presents would never get delivered to the little children.
Let’s get back to the coming about of Rudolph. If you were a youngster either in age or in heart, you would have possibly seen the short cartoon flick that came out in 1949. This cartoon rang true to the original idea and story. Thus beginning to be a rather large part of the coming to life of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
The year is 1949, and you turn on your radio to your favorite Christmas station. Then you hear this song that talks about the little reindeer with a big red nose. This song became a huge favorite of many, and now all around the world. Though, there were many versions of this song, it really did become the base of the stories created and the movies, and cartoons that presented this reindeer in the media.
Golden Book Publishing, in 1958, brought the story to life in the famous children’s books they have published for many years. Though it is nearly impossible to get an original version of the story, you can still get some very nice stories that also carry the story to the accurate fullness.
Finally we get to the television and movie theatres with feature films. This is where that little red nose really guided the hearts of many. Even if the original reindeer was born way before your time, the media and hearts of the young and old have continued the tradition of that little Red Nosed Reindeer guiding the way of Santa and his sleigh.
There was a cartoon that played on television created and viewed in 1964. That same cartoon has been provided to the public every year since that time. It is the story the children now days will sing about.
There have been variations of the shorter story, a brother, a son etc. However the base idea of the little Red Nosed Reindeer born to help with Christmas will always be the same. We are all different, however our differences may be part of us and necessary for a very important reason.