Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

One of the most popular songs and holiday television specials associated with childhood is the perineal classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. This song about a lovable reindeer, once ostracized for his red nose, worked its way into the hearts of millions.  However, Rudolph did not get his start in a song or a Christmas special; he debuted in a book.

In 1939 creator Robert May was assigned to Chicago based department store Montgomery Ward. The shop, which previously bought and handed out coloring books, decided to create their book in order  to save money.  The story idea of Rudolph, initially rejected by the management due to the significance of a red nose being associated with alcoholism, needed the help of illustrator Denver Gillen to prove its innocence. Gillen, using zoo deer as models to draw the cute characters to the story. The management supported the idea after seeing his illustrations.  In its first year of publication, Montgomery Ward distributed 2.5 million copies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Since its first publication, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer produced two sequels, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shines Again in 1954 and Rudolph's Second Christmas in 1991. It also became a cartoon movie in 1944, a song in 1949 written by May's brother in law Johnny Marks and made famous by Gene Autry.  In 1964, the production company Rankin/Bass produced the well known stop-motion Christmas special. 

Songs of Christmas Past Part 1: White Christmas

One of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time is White Christmas. The tune, written by composer Irving Berlin, tells of a reminiscent tale of the magic of a snowy Christmas day and the beauty it gives the outdoors. Even though the song talks about a wintery cold day, White Christmas was composed when Berlin when he was staying at the  La Quinta Hotel in warm, sunny La Quinta, California in 1940. However, it took someone who was familiar with white Christmases to hurl it into a big hit that it was. Bing Crosby, who grew up in Spokane, Washington, debuted the song on Christmas day in 1941 on the NBC radio show The Kraft Music Hall. On May 29, 1942, Crosby  recorded the White Christmas with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers for Decca Records. The song, released on July 30th of that year was a part of an album of songs from the film Holiday Inn. By the end of October of 1942, White Christmas  topped the "Your Hit Parade" chart and maintained its position the following year. During the holiday seasons of 1945 and 1946, it was re-released by Decca and was once again at the top of the charts. In 1954, White Christmas was used in the movie, "White Christmas" starring Crosby. The song became the biggest-selling single worldwide of all time and used  as a secret, pre-arranged signal launching the U.S. evacuation from Saigon on April 30, 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War.

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is my favorite Christmas story of all time. I remember watching it every Christmas Eve with all the lights turned off with the exception of the glow of our tree and the C7 lights hanging right outside our window. Not only do I have the book, I also have 4 different versions of the beloved tale by Charles Dickens.  This is one of the best versions. The classic 1951 version that I watched growing up staring Alastair Sim. :)

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Hi Everyone, I am Back!! :)

I know it has been awhile since I worked on this blog. I have been out of commission due to medical reasons for some time as well as a few other distractions. It is great to be back and I am looking forward to doing more posts for you! :)