Reindeer are a very important part of the Christmas folklore, as they speed Santa's sleigh over the rooftops with toys for girls and boys all over the world. Everyone knows that Rudolph, who has been immortalised in song and story, is the most famous reindeer of all, but what many people don't realise is that Rudolf is a comparatively recent addition to the Christmas story. Rudolf, the Red-nosed Reindeer was created by 34-year-old Robert L. May in America in 1939 for a group of department stores. Robert had a particular aptitude for writing children's stories.

It is said that May, who had been ridiculed as a child because he was shy, small and slight, drew on his own background in deciding on the character of Rudolph and came up with the idea of an underdog rejected by his reindeer colleagues because of his glowing red nose. May considered the name Rollo, but decided that it was too cheerful for the name of a misfit, he rejected the name Reginald as being too british, before finally settling on Rudolph.

He wrote the story of rudolph in a series of rhyming couplets which he tried out on his four-year-old daughter, Barbara, who was delighted with the story. However, May's bosses weren't pleased, they were concerned that the story might not be all that suitable for Christmas because of the association of a red nose with drinking and drunkenness. It was only when they saw the illustrations for the story that they gave their approval for the project. The story of Rudolph turned out to be a brilliant success.

Nearly two and a half million copies of the booklet were distributed in 1939 and in spite of paper shortages because of the Second World War, a total of six million copies had been handed out by the end of 1946. When the war was over, there was a huge demand for the licensing of the Rudolf character and a tremendous amount of money was generated by the story. The sad part about it was that Robert L. May, the man responsible for it all, didn't receive a penny, because he was merely an employee of Montgomery Ward who held the copyright. At this stage, May was deeply in dept. His wife had died and he found himself with huge medical bills to pay. In January 1947, May persuaded the corporate president of Montgomery Ward, Sewell Avery, to transfer the copyright to him. May was then able to live a very comfortable life-style thanks to the popularity of the story of Rudolf.

The Rudolf Story was to receive a huge boost when May's brother-in-law, a songwriter named Johnny Marks, produced the lyrics and melody for a Rudolf song. Strange as it may seem now, Marks' version of "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was turned down by many artists, but it was recorded in 1949 by Gene Autry. In its first year it sold a phenomenal two million records and went on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time (second only to "White Christmas"). A TV special about Rudolph narrated by Burl Ives was produced in 1964 and continues to be a huge holiday favourite in America.

Robert L. May quit his copywriting job in 1951 and spent seven years managing his creation before returning to Montgomery Ward, where he worked until his retirement in 1971. He died in 1976.

The story portrayed in Johnny Marks' song differs in a number of ways from Robert L. May's original version. According to the Robert L. May's story, Rudolf did not live in the North Pole. He was just an ordinary reindeer who lived elsewhere. Of course, he was laughed at for having a shiny red nose, but he was part of a loving family and his parents were proud of him. Santa didn't pick him out from the reindeer herd because of his red nose. In fact, he discovered Rudolph completely by accident, while he was delivering presents to his house.

Santa was worried that the thickening fog would prevent him from completing his Christmas Eve rounds, and he recruited Rudolph to lead his team of reindeer.