The Origin of Rudolph

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is today one of the most popular and immutable fixtures of the Christmas season. But has it always been thus? Where and when did the Rudolph story originate? After all, you may have noted that Rudolph does not feature in the beloved 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas / The Night Before Christmas"; the poem lists only eight reindeer ("Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer and Vixen, / On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem"), and Rudolph is not among them.

Rudolph, it turns out, was created by the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939. From the Smithsonian:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939 when Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to create a Christmas story the store could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick.

The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year; and it was decided that creating its own book would save money. In the first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by Montgomery Ward.

Rudolph was further popularized, of course, by Gene Autry's 1949 song (lyrics by Robert May's brother-in-law) and Burl Ives's 1964 TV special. You can read more here and here.