Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May
Summary
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created in 1939 by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. Though he initially receives ridicule for his nose as a fawn, the brightness of his nose is so powerful that it illuminates the team's path through harsh winter weather. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr., described Rudolph's story as "the fantasy story made to order for American children: each child has the need to express and receive approval for their individuality and special qualities. Rudolph's story embodies the American Dream for the child, writ large because of the cultural significance of Christmas."
Originally created by Taras
12/12/2002, 1:32:41 PM
Modified
4/25/2026, 1:48:26 AM
Recent revisions
add creation date to lead sentence
Reverting possible vandalism by [[Special:Contribs/~2026-95128-2|~2026-95128-2]] to version by MichaelMaggs. [[WP:CBFP|Report False Positive?]] Thanks, [[WP:CBNG|ClueBot NG]]. (4484887) (Bot)
Reverted edit by [[Special:Contribs/~2026-95128-2|~2026-95128-2]] ([[User talk:~2026-95128-2|talk]]) to last version by KuyaMoHirowo
Reverting non-constructive edits by [[Special:Contributions/~2026-11386-22|~2026-11386-22]] ([[WP:CVPI|CVPI]])
Reverted edit by [[Special:Contribs/~2026-95128-2|~2026-95128-2]] ([[User talk:~2026-95128-2|talk]]) to last version by Mtminchi08
add note
/* Other */ Don't include trivial references – [[MOS:CULTURALREFS]] and [[MOS:TRIVIA]]
/* Other */
/* Other */
[[MOS:RANGE]]
Moving [[:Category:Fictional deer and moose]] to [[:Category:Fictional deer]] per [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 December 2#Deer and moose in popular culture categories]]
Reverted edit by [[Special:Contribs/~2025-40338-86|~2025-40338-86]] ([[User talk:~2025-40338-86|talk]]) to last version by Sjones23
Fixed typo
Restored revision 1325937213 by [[Special:Contributions/~2025-38400-63|~2025-38400-63]] ([[User talk:~2025-38400-63|talk]]): No effort made to follow [[WP:SIMPLE]] rules and provide an [[WP:EDITSUMMARY]].
