1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer- Robert. L May came up with the now iconic reindeer story back in 1939, on the back of the great depression, while his wife was suffering from a terminal illness. It took him all year to finish the story- and sadly his wife passed before Rudolph went to press.
He was employed by a department store called Montgomery Ward to create a Christmas poem to go into the free colouring books they wanted to hand out to children over the holiday season.
Robert put a lot of himself into Rudolph (he had been bullied as a child) and the little reindeer probably kept him sane during one of the hardest times of his life- as when the publishers wanted to pass the story onto another writer at the time of his wife's death, he refused.
Rudolph's iconic red nose was a tad controversial back in 1939- as this was something often attributed to alcoholism- and Montgomery Ward were not convinced. But Robert asked the head of the art department Denver Gillan to draw his vison of Rudolph- and the rest went down in history- meeting the approval of their bosses. Rudolph would go onto have many adaptations, movies and books.
Robert was lucky as Montgomery-Ward signed over the rights of Rudolph to him- and this allowed him to take control of his own creation, including the Rankin Bass adaptation for which his brother in law penned the music.
2. The Grinch-'How the Grinch Stole Christmas', was published in 1957. Written in only a few weeks by Dr. Seuss, it was penned by the author to help him reconnect with his sense of Christmas. the Grinch is a nasty sort of fellow, who despises Christmas- so he decides to steal it. Seems logical.
It has been made into several different Christmas specials over the pass sixty years. When the first animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released- it was not meet with much attention. Back in 1966, television was rife with Christmas specials. (Thank you Rankin- Bass)
But now, the original animation, has become a cult classic to be watched every Christmas.
3. Jack Skellington- I always found this movie hard to sit through as a child as it is kind of creepy. After re-watching it as an adult I definitely found a new appreciation for it. The tragic and languishing character of Jack Skellington hit the movie theatres back in 1994.
Not quite a Halloween movie, not quite a Christmas movie, but somehow it's beautifully dark story hits the emotive notes. Jack is bored of Halloween and is longing for more when he accidentally finds himself in Christmas Town. He started to think that the grass is greener on the other side- and decides to play Santa for the holidays.
Jack is a troubled soul who seems to be having an identity crisis- but he learns his lesson when Christmas doesn't go the way he expected- and he remembers just how much he does indeed love Halloween. In the end he finds true love with Sally (a girl created by the mad scientist Dr. Finkelstein) who has been supporting him all along.
The sweet love story between Jack and Sally and the emotional growth Jack goes through make him a great Christmas character.
5. Ebenezer Scrooge- From Charles Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol,' published in 1843 tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge who is mean and miserable- and does not celebrate Christmas! His employee Bob Cratchit asks for the day off-much to the horror of his boss.
Ebenezer is a symbolic character that represents everything anti-Christmas and so through the story Ebenezer is visited by the three Ghost of Christmas and learns to embrace the spirit of giving just in time for Tiny Tim (Bob Cratchit's son) to survive Christmas, and thus redeeming himself.
5. Frosty the Snowman- Who doesn't love Frosty the Snowman and his jovial outlook on life? Frosty was first brought to life in 1950 by Singer Gene Autry. He had had a huge hit the year before with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and wanted to repeat his success. Even though the original song doesn't even mention Christmas- the song soon was a huge Christmas hit.
In 1969, Rankin-Bass released the animated Christmas Special that has since become a holiday Classic.
What do all these classic stories have in common that make them so popular? I realised that all of the characters are outcast in someway, Rudolph is bullied for his nose, the Grinch lives alone, Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King, but also a loner, Kevin is looked down on by his family and Frosty can only come to life in the Winter and is grateful for the children's company.
So while each story is vastly different- they all convey a similar message-one of home, acceptance and a Christmas miracle.
Happy Holidays!!
Laurelle Lewis