🎅Who is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?🎅

The following video provides a short history of Santa's "most famous reindeer of all". Get the Christmas workbook

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In this video:

Almost everyone has heard the story of Rudolph, the reindeer with a shiny red nose. But where did this story come from, and how long has it been a part of the Christmas tradition?

In 1939, a writer named Robert L. May wrote a story entitled “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” for the Montgomery Ward department store. In its first year of publication, the store sold more than two million copies of the story.

The story chronicles the tale of a young reindeer, Rudolph, who was born with an illuminated, red nose. His fellow reindeer mocked him and excluded him from the group until one unusually foggy Christmas Eve. Santa, taking notice of the shiny red nose, asked Rudolph to lead his reindeer team through the fog that night so he could deliver Christmas presents to children.

Several years later, a song writer, Johnny Marks, wrote a song based on the overwhelmingly popular children’s story. In 1949, singer Gene Autry recorded the most recognizable version of the song. This song became a #1 hit and, to this day, it remains amongst the most successful songs of all time.

In 1964, another important piece to Rudolph’s history was added. Rankin/Bass produced an animated television Christmas special for NBC, featuring Rudolph and several new friends such as Hermey the elf and Yukon Cornelius. This program has been broadcast every December since 1964, making it the longest running holiday special on television.

Today, Rudolph has been accepted by most as a part of Santa’s reindeer team (making him the unofficial 9th reindeer). The story is known by children around the world, and the song has been sung by countless performers. The tale has entrenched itself into our hearts and minds, and Rudolph has become one of the defining symbols of the holiday season.

Every year, children from around the world sit entranced in front of TV and computer screens as newscasters and websites track Rudolph’s progress as he leads Santa’s sleigh around the globe.

For these and many other reasons, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is as popular as ever, making the words of the song truer than they were the first time Gene Autry sang them. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is certainly “the most famous reindeer of all.”

Lyrics:

You know Dasher and Dancer

And Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid

And Donner and Blitzen.

But do you recall

The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw it

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

And they shouted out with glee

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

You'll go down in history!