The True Story Behind "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"

All Americans and many children around the world know the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. During the holidays, a person can't escape from the Christmas song about Rudolph and how he saved Santa with his red nose. Isn't it a tradition for everyone to watch "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on television each Christmas? But do you know the real story behind Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?

The true story behind the creation of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is an interesting one. If it weren't for the Montgomery Ward department store and a copywriter employee, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer would never have "gone down in history".

Rudolph the reindeer was created in Chicago in 1939. The huge chain store, Montgomery Ward, needed a new promotion for Christmas. For years, Montgomery Ward had bought coloring books to use as giveaways to draw Christmas shoppers.

To save money, Montgomery Ward decided to use their own employees to create a new Christmas coloring book. Robert May was a middle-aged copywriter working for Montgomery Ward at the time. He was given the responsibility of creating a Christmas story for the holiday promotion.

As a child, Robert May was small and shy and often ridiculed by kids in the neighborhood. Using the classic fairytale "The Ugly Duckling" and his own childhood experiences, May conjured up a little reindeer who was picked on by his peers. Next, May had to come up with a suitable name. He tried out several cute names on his young daughter, Barbara. Barbara especially liked Rudolph. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was officially born.

The "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Christmas song and cartoon that we grew up with is quite different than the original Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer story. Robert May's Rudolph grew up in a small village in the woods with his reindeer family. Unlike the Christmas television cartoon, Rudolph's parents weren't ashamed of Rudolph's bright red nose. However, Rudolph was teased by other reindeer. Despite this, Rudolph was happy and optimistic.