A true tale about how Rudolph, the reindeer came into origin have been
narrated here. Robert May was a poor copywriter in Chicago, living in a
shabby two-room apartment. His wife Evelyn was suffering from cancer and
was bedridden for two years and all his earnings and savings went into
her treatment. It was then, when on a December night, his four year old
daughter Barbara asked him, "Why isn't my mommy just like everybody
else's mommy?" The heart touched Bob's heart like a glass splinter.
All his life, he had been 'different', weak and delicate as a child and
just a lowly copywriter for Montgomery Ward, the big Chicago mail order
house, as an adult. He was thirty-three years old at the time and was
already deep in debt, depressed and sad. However, he made up a story for
her to placate the child and inspire her to be optimistic.
The story was that of Rudolph, the only reindeer in the world with a
big shiny red nose. Everybody used to tease and make fun of this poor
creature and call him 'Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer', which
embarrassed him greatly. Even his mother, father and sister were
mortified by his presence near them, which deepened Rudolph's
embarrassment and depression. He immersed himself in self-pity and felt
quite lonely. However, on one Christmas eve, when Santa got his sleigh
ready for his annual trip around the world with his team of eight
handsomest and huskiest reindeers including Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and
Vixen and the entire reindeer community assembled there to cheer them,
thich mist and fog engulfed the earth.
Santa was wondering how could he distribute his toys now and how to
find chimneys. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the glowing bright red nose of
Rudolph and found a solution for his problem. He requested Rudolph to
lead his sleigh, which he gladly did and was harnessed instantly.
Rudolph guided Santa safely to every chimney that night despite all the
rain, fog, snow and sleet. This brave act made Rudolph the most famous
and beloved of all the reindeers and a great hero too. The very red
nose, which was a shame to him, became his most prized possession and
every buck and doe in the reindeer world.
The story so pleased Barbara that Bob decided to draft it into a poem
as a Christmas gift to her. The poem was called 'Night Before
Christmas'. When he was still working on the verses, Evelyn died. Yet,
Bob kept his courage up for the sake of his daughter. He recited it in
one of his office holiday parties in 1938 and won spontaneous applause.
The booklet with crude illustrations that he had prepared for his
daughter became so popular that by 1947, 6 million copies had already
been circulating around and Rudolph was in great demand for sponsoring
products. Bob May naturally became a very rich man. Since then, Rudolph
has occupied a permanent niche in the Christmas legend.
Legend of the Rudolph