Holiday Humor: Rudolph the Approval Seeking Pariah

Warning: Reading this post may tarnish some of your fond childhood memories…

“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” is one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. If you are unfamiliar, or need a refresher, here are the lyrics:

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say:
“Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Then all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you’ll go down in history!

Wasn’t that nice? Doesn’t that make you feel good? Doesn’t that fill you with hope and Christmas cheer?

Well it shouldn’t.

While on the surface, Rudolph is a happy song about an underdog overcoming to become the most famous reindeer ever, there is a hidden, much darker meaning in the song.

The Real Message of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer:

If You Are Different, Society Will Shun You, *Unless* Said Difference Proves Useful, At Which Point Society Will Exploit You

Think about it: until a meteorological phenomenon was about to impede Santa’s annual gift giving bonanza, Rudolph was shunned and mocked. However, as soon as Santa needed high-beams that only Rudolph could provide, Rudolph became a hero.

Doesn’t this sound a bit like the nerdy kid in high school who couldn’t get a date but then goes on to start a multi-million dollar software company and now all of a sudden all the women who previously shunned him are throwing themselves at him?

There’s no heart-warming lesson here. The reindeer don’t look past Rudolph’s slight proboscis problem to see his inner beauty and accept him for who he is. If Santa had never come along, they would have continued to shun and mock Rudolph to the point where he became the “Boo Radley” of reindeers.

Actually, being herd creatures, their shunning of Rudolph probably just would have resulted in him being ravaged by a pack of wolverines.

Fortunately for Rudolph (and the entire Santa gift-receiving world), Rudolph’s nose glowed, so he became accepted. Can you imagine what would have happened if Rudolph’s nose had been green, wrinkled, and non-glowy? Two words for you: “Wolverine Buffet.”

This song, sung with glee around the holidays by children and adults, seems so happy and inspiring, and yet it is the exact opposite.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t sing it. And I’m not saying you should ban your children from singing it. But maybe they next time they do, you sit them down and remind them, “you know, those other reindeer were wrong to have mocked Rudolph, and even if Santa had never come along and given Rudolph his stamp of approval, the other reindeer should have accepted and loved Rudolph anyway. Or at least gotten to know him. Or just left him alone to live his life in peace.” I’m just sayin’…

Here are three simple lessons you can take away from Holiday Humor: Rudolph the Approval Seeking Pariah:

1. Look past physical beauty – That ridiculously handsome dude may eat babies in his spare time, while that girl with the glowing red nose may be the coolest person ever. Take a sec to find out.
2. Approval Schmapproval! – Perhaps the real issue with “Rudolph” is how important it makes it to be accepted and approved of. It’s nice to be liked, but you can’t live your life seeking approval from everyone. Work on being happy, proud, and comfortable with yourself. Hard lessons for kids to accept, but as adults, this is the way to go. Besides, if no one disapproves of what you’re doing, you’re probably not doing enough.
3. Sometimes the message isn’t the message – Children’s tales are filled with stories that explicitly have one moral but, upon further inspection, carry deeper subtle messages that aren’t so positive. The next time you are reading a story, or giving a speech, or designing an ad, or simply using an example to prove a point, take a second to think if there are other ways your communication could be interpreted. You might be surprised by how you are undermining your own point

So go forth and sing your Rudolph songs, but when it’s all said and done, make sure you also spread the holiday sentiments of courtesy, acceptance, and love for all to counter the sad depressing message of Rudolph, the Approval Seeking Pariah…