Rudolph, for the Solstice

The 21st Day on the Advent Calendar

Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Montgomery Ward Department Store “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” 1939

The sun set at 4:23pm here in Chicago today, so I thought it was the perfect day to celebrate Rudolph’s light in the city where he was first imagined.

Arguably the most beloved Christmas character save Santa himself, Rudolph got his start when a copywriter at a department store in Chicago was given an assignment:

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.

— Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Smithsonian

Robert L. May thought he had a good story, even when asked by his employer if he couldn’t come up with something else.

In the midst of the assignment, May’s wife, who’d been ill, died. The young widower with a child was offered a reduced workload.

His boss offered to take the reindeer project off his plate. But May refused.

“I needed Rudolph now more than ever," he later wrote.

— Writing Rudolph, NPR

Ten years later, in 1949, Mr. May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” based on the original story that started its life as a department store pamphlet. The illustrations are by Denver L. Gillen.

To learn more about Robert L. May and the story behind Rudolph, click here: NPR and Smithsonian.

The NPR link contains the original illustrated pamphlet.

Dartmouth Rauner Special Collections Library

A Cookie in Honor of Rudolph

Photo: Jolene

This Gingerbread cookie recipe is from the Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies. I really like them, crisp, flavorful, the dough comes together easily and in my oven they baked up in 6 minutes.

I gave Rudolph some mid-century modern style by simply adorning him with confectioners sugar and then pressed sour cherry balls into the dough right when the cookies came out of the oven and were still pliable— don’t add the cherries before baking, they’ll melt. I couldn’t find Red Hots today, which I had planned to use, those can be put on the cookies before baking. The tablecloth with reindeer design from the 1950s belonged to my grandmother. ❤️🦌

Here is the recipe: Gingerbread

Solstice Around The World

Sabrina Y. Smith

of the wonderful

Seven Senses

has written about Solstice traditions around the world, you can read her post at the link below:

Merry and Trippy Holidays

Day 21 on “The Little Town” Advent Calendar

See you tomorrow! ❤️🦌 Jolene