The Chicago Traveler

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen,
Comet, and Cupid, and Donder, and Blitzen
But do you recall
the most famous reindeer of all?

The beloved Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer may reside at the North Pole now, but he was originally a Chicagoan!

The Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company (the very first office was at the corner of Clark and Kinzie Streets) had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year, and it was decided that creating their own book would save money. So in 1939, Robert L. May was assigned to come up with a Christmas story they could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick.

Robert May already had a knack for writing children’s stories and wrote the story of Rudolph, an ostracized reindeer with a glowing red nose. May’s bosses were hesitant about the character at first because a red nose was an image often associated with drunkards. However, with the help of illustrations from Denver Gillen (from the store’s art department), the story was approved, and 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph booklet were distributed.

Rudolph gained incredible popularity in 1949 when Gene Autry recorded “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the lyrics and melody of which were written by Johnny Marks, Robert Mays’ (Jewish) brother-in-law. It became one of the best-selling songs of all time.

It is worthy to note that the globally popular song and TV special differ slightly from the original story Mays wrote. Originally, Rudolph did not live at the North Pole and, while he was teased and laughed at for his nose, he had supportive parents and a healthy self-image. Also, Santa found Rudolph by accident, noticing the bright red glow while delivering presents to Rudolph’s house.

There are plenty of popular actors and celebrities from Chicago, but I don’t think any of them have the long-lasting global fame that this little reindeer has achieved for more than 60 years.

Photo credit: wootam! (1, 2), Snopes.com