Happy Birthday to My Pal

Happy Belated Birthday to my old buddy Rudie! You all know Rudie, the 70 year old reindeer that will glide across the sky on Christmas Eve leading Santa on his journey? Rudolph has become one the big symbols of Christmas since his appearance in a Montgomery Ward's coloring book back in 1939. If you have one of those, you will be a very happy and financially stable person for this Christmas.

Now, I am not a young man, although some would think me sophmoric in my humor. I really had no idea where Rudolph originated, nor where the idea of eight tiny reindeer came from. But, being the wise English teacher and purveyor of knowledge that I am, I did some reading on the subject. I found myself totally immersed in the story. Thanks to several different websites (which I will cite at the end of this blog) I learned something new, thereby proving that an old dog can still learn new things.

The idea of eight reindeer probably orginated with the Norwegians who believed that Odin, king of the gods, rode around and delivered gifts in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. The names of the reindeer were, according to Clement Moore in "A Visit from Old Saint Nick" (Twas the Night Before Christmas): Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen. Now, some folks, including Mr. Robert May who wrote Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for Wards, say that the name was Donner, not Donder. But Moore, according to Donder.com , wrote in a note that the name of the reindeer was DONDER.

My friend, Rudie, was discovered by Santa when the Jolly Old Elf delivered items to Rudolph's family on a snowy evening that had severe sight distance problems. Santa apparently asked Rudolph to help him out because of the bright nose, and the rest in history.

Montgomery Wards had asked May to write a Christmas story for a coloring book, and he used a comglomeration of stories and his own personal experiences to create the character of Rudolph. It is not known if Mr. May had a large red nose, though. When the story became popular, May's brother in law Johnny Marks, wrote the song. Gene Autry recorded it after many had refused to do so, and his copy of the song has sold over 12 milion records. 500 others have recorded the song selling over 160 million copies! Autry's version is second only to "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby.

Click on Rudolph Red the Nosed Reindeer to go to a website and hear Autry singing the song on his show in 1949.

Rudolph first appeared on December 18, 1939. And seems to never age! We all should be this lucky. I hope this has you singing the song all day!

Merry Christmas,
Doughnut

Here are the links for your viewing pleasure;

Holiday Traditions
Donder.com
Happy Birthday Rudolph!
Holiday Fires