Most children will struggle to name any of Santa’s reindeer apart from one – Rudolph. But not many know the history behind this character.
Until the 1930s, Santa only had eight reindeer. And prior to 1821, he was distributing gifts on foot.
Each of us has wondered at least once in our lifetime – why did Santa choose reindeer? And why is Rudolph’s nose glowing red?
Surprisingly, the reason Santa’s sleigh is pulled by reindeer has pagan roots. Rudolph’s history, in turn, is much more recent.
Today, Rudolph is a common character in TV specials, cartoons, movies, books, and songs. He’s the youngest, but certainly not the least important Santa’s helper.
The History of Santa’s Reindeer
Before Santa encountered his ninth reindeer Rudolph, his sleigh used to be pulled by eight other reindeer. But why specifically reindeer, and how did the tradition originate?
Many think that the first mention of Santa’s reindeer in print is Clarke Clement Moore’s poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas. Indeed, it was one of the earliest appearances of Santa’s furry companions, but not the first one.
Despite this common misconception, they were first featured in a children’s book Old Sinteclaus with Much Delight, written in 1821 by an anonymous author. The poem was accompanied by an illustration of Santa in his sleigh.
However, Old Sinteclaus with Much Delight, unlike A Visit from Saint Nicholas, didn’t mention Santa’s reindeer names – Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem.
Interestingly, the names Dunder and Blixem are derived from Dutch words for lightning. And this connection may indicate the reason Santa’s sleight is pulled by reindeer.
Why Reindeer?
The widely-known Santa’s prototype, Saint Nicholas, never owned a sleigh, let alone reindeer. But he wasn’t the only figure who influenced our perception of Santa Claus.
Before Christianity appeared, Norse pagans celebrated the winter solstice festival known as Yule. They believed that the supreme god Odin was roaming the sky during the Yule season, accompanied by other gods, in his Wild Hunt.
Over time, Yule celebrations were replaced with Christmas, but Scandinavians preserved the association of Odin with winter holiday season. And the more you look into the similarities of Odin with Santa, the more interesting it gets.
Of course, no one can deny the obvious influence of Sant Nicholas on Santa Claus’s image. Still, Santa’s long white beard is most likely borrowed from Odin, just like his sleigh.
During the Wild Hunt, Odin was believed to roam the sky in a sleigh pulled by his eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Odin was also known to give away gifts.
So, the idea of Santa’s eight reindeer in Old Sinteclaus with Much Delight and A Visit from Saint Nicholas was inspired by Odin’s magical horse.
But since horses would have trouble withstanding the freezing temperatures of the North Pole, the authors strived to find a more suitable animal. Moose are way too heavy, and oxen are too slow – but reindeer were a perfect choice.
The Book
Santa’s ninth reindeer, Rudolph, appeared a century later than the rest. He was first featured in a functional book by Robert Lewis May written in 1939, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
May was a Montgomery Ward employee struggling with depression due to the illness of his wife and the economic collapse of that time. He was writing short stories on the side as a copywriter.
In 1939, the retail chain decided to start publishing children’s Christmas books to raise sales.
Interestingly, May attempted to publish his story even earlier, but in the 1930s, the red nose was often associated with drunkards.
Different companies rejected the idea multiple times until May asked a friend to draw a cute reindeer with a red nose to show how innocent it was. He brought the story along with the picture to Montgomery Ward, and they found it great.
Rudolph is Santa’s youngest reindeer, who uses his bright red nose to illuminate the way. We can only speculate how difficult it was for Santa to bring gifts to children during the night before he met Rudolph.
At the start of the story, Rudolph’s red nose is a constant reason for mocking. He’s excluded from other reindeer companies because of his unusual appearance.
No one wants to play with him, but Rudolph remains kind and polite. He believes that Santa will bring him the desired gift, as he behaved well the entire year.
On Christmas Eve, the visibility is poor due to inclement weather, and Santa has to fly lower than usual, guided by the lights of houses instead of the moon and stars. Inside of houses, Santa often stumbles in the darkness.
Eventually, Santa arrives at Rudolph’s house. He’s surprised to discover that he can clearly see everything inside Rudolph’s bedroom in the light of his nose.
Santa then decides to wake up Rudolph and tell him about his difficulties, suggesting joining him on his journey. Naturally, Rudolph is happy to be helpful. He leaves a short note to his reindeer parents and leaves.
And so, Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, saves Christmas, becoming an irreplaceable part of Santa’s reindeer team.
The book was written in the same meter as A Visit from Saint Nicholas, indicating that May drew inspiration from Moore’s work.
Rudolph Becomes a Christmas Symbol
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer quickly became a hit. Over two million copies were sold in the first year across the U.S. alone.
However, the author didn’t get much from it apart from recognition – he had to live on a humble copywriter’s salary.
Only after World War ll ended did the Montgomery Ward hand Robert Lewis May the rights to his book. He could finally start not only earning from his creation but also got to choose how to promote it.
Luckily for May, his brother-in-law Johnny Marks was a musician and a songwriter. May asked him to write a Christmas song featuring Rudolph, and Johnny agreed.
In 1949, the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was picked up by one of the most influential figures in the history of country music – the “singing cowboy” Gene Autry.
Soon, his recording has hit first place in Billboard pop single chart of the week.
By the end of the year, Autry’s recording was sold in over 2.5 million copies, which later grew to over 25 million. Until the 1990s, the song was the second best-selling record of all time.
The song led to the rising interest in May’s book, and soon, Rudolph started appearing on TV screens and in children’s poems nearly as often as Santa himself. Today, Rudolph is the most famous of Santa’s reindeer.
Rudolph in Culture
Rudolph’s first appearance on the screen was in 1948, in a short animated movie carrying the same name as the book behind it, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The cartoon was produced by Max Fleischer and was only eight-minute-long.
In 1964, an eponymous stop motion television special was produced by Videocraft International. Unlike the 1948 cartoon that was based specifically on May’s book, the special was based on Johnny Mark’s song.
Fun fact – although Rudolph’s parents aren’t mentioned in May’s book, the TV special states that his father is one of Santa’s first reindeer, Donner. In a later retelling by GoodTimes production, his father is another Santa’s reindeer, Blitzen.
In the 1950s, Rudolph’s story was commonly issued for stereoscopes – a device resembling glasses with changing images. At the same time, Rudolph was honored with an entire series of comics dedicated to him.
The comics were issued once a year throughout 1950-1962 by DC Comics, mostly drawn by Rube Grossman. They had immense success in the popularization of Rudolph among children across the U.S. and Europe.
The 1964’s TV special had two sequels, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year filmed in 1976 and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July made in 1979, integrating Rudolph in the universe of Frosty the Snowman.
Rudolph has also made numerous appearances as a side character, for instance, in the 1970 stop motion cartoon Santa Claus is Coming to Town and 1976 TV special The First Easter Rabbit.
In 1998, Rudolph was featured in his first full-length, 2D-animated film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie.
This animation’s plot was very different from May’s original story, involving Rudolph’s sidekick, his love interest, and a villain.
Three years later, the same production issued Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys that was much more old-fashioned, resembling the famous 1964 TV special.
A series of animated Christmas TV specials produced by BBC in 1999-2007 also introduces us Rudolph’s son, Robbie. And in Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn’t Happen (2006), Rudolph is given a brother Rusty.
Perhaps, everyone knows Dr. Seuss’s famous movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In its 2000 remake, Grinch dresses his dog as Rudolph to easily get into people’s homes and steal all decorations.
As for more recent homages, Rudolph is briefly mentioned in the 2007 movie Fred Claus and Doctor Who’s 2014 Christmas special “Last Christmas.”
Johnny Mark’s song recorded by Gene Autry may be the first, but far from last Rudolph’s mentions in music. For instance, in 1963, the famous reindeer appeared in “Little Saint Nick” by the Beach Boys.