FROM THE JOURNAL - COCKTAILS & CURIOSITIES
The Ninth Day of Christmas
Cocktail : Cranberry and Maraschino Bourbon Sour
Recipe:
Did you know our lovable red-nosed reindeer hasn't even been around for a century?
Rudolph was created in 1939, when American department store Montgomery Ward asked one of its copywriters, Robert L. May, to write a Christmas story they could give away to shoppers. The store had been handing out colouring books for years and decided creating their own festive booklet would save money.
Thirty-five-year-old May had the task of bringing the story to life. His inspiration came partly from his young daughter, Barbara, who adored reindeer, and partly from the tale of The Ugly Duckling. Reindeer were already part of Christmas folklore thanks to the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, but May imagined there was room for one more... and chose the alliterative name Rudolph.
Behind the scenes, however, life was far from festive. May was struggling financially and his wife, Evelyn, was terminally ill. She sadly passed away in July 1939 while he was still writing the story. Throwing himself into his work, he completed the manuscript just weeks later.
That Christmas, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer were given away free to Montgomery Ward customers.
The story might have ended there, but in 1949 May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, turned it into the song we all know today. Recorded by Gene Autry, it became an instant classic and helped make Rudolph a Christmas icon.
In 1947, Montgomery Ward generously returned the copyright to May, allowing him to receive royalties from the book, song and the many Rudolph products that followed. After years of hardship, Rudolph finally brought some much-needed happiness to May and his family.
May always said the moral of the story was that tolerance and perseverance can overcome adversity.
Or, to put it another way... the things that make us different can often become our greatest strengths.