... And Eight Tiny Reindeer

Way back, in 1822, a man sat down and wrote a poem.

It was a gift for his children. It has become one of the most famous poems in the world, retold through stories, movies and books. It has been passed down through generations and become accepted as fantastic fact.

Clement Clarke Moore (1779 – 1863) would be amazed to know that his poem, now known as “The Night Before Christmas” still delights children almost 200 years later.

In his poem, he started another fantastic rumour. The reindeer.

Remember these lines:

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer...

Robert L. May created Rudolph, in 1939.

This red-nosed reindeer is surely the most famous and most popular of the reindeer. Rudolph is so deeply buried in the Christmas story that it’s difficult to imagine Christmas without him!

His fame and popularity were boosted after a song was written about him. Gene Autry, in 1949 created the Rudolph song, ensuring that Rudolph would live forever in the imaginations of children.

This Christmas, children waiting for Santa’s arrival will be straining to hear the sounds of reindeer hooves on their roof. The belief in these magical and marvellous creatures wraps the Christmas Story together.

I’ll be making sure that carrots and water are left out for the reindeer.

http://www.santaswarehouse.com.au

No great story would be completed without a little scandal!

Maybe, someone else wrote the poem “The Night Before Christmas”. There are a group of people who claim to have listened to Henry Livingston’s reading of the same poem! And, they state that they were listening to it for 15 years before it was supposedly written! Scandal!

http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/henry/xmas/livingstonmoore/index.htm#author