When a bad snowstorm had Santa proclaiming that Christmas was cancelled, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer became the North Pole’s last hope.
The turn of events was arguably most surprising to Rudolph himself. From a young age, he was constantly ridiculed and rejected by Santa and his closest allies. For all he knew, making the coveted sleigh team as a red-nosed reindeer was impossible.
Old Saint Nick not only greenlit Rudolph’s persecution — he was the source of it. A dark cloud of injustice emanates from Santa’s workshop, siphoning valuable Christmas spirit. His misdeeds leave the most important day of the year vulnerable to crises, like the storm that emerged that foggy Christmas Eve. Needless to say, Santa is past his prime.
We are led to believe that Rudolph’s fellow reindeer orchestrated his persecution — that they were the ones who laughed, called him names and, indeed, didn’t let him join in any reindeer games. But I understand such a retelling of Rudolph’s story as Clausian propaganda.
The culture that ostracized Rudolph originated from and was promulgated by the North Pole’s longtime leader. Old Kris Kringle has denied responsibility for the near-cancellation of Christmas for long enough. The buck must stop at Santa’s Workshop.
It is well-reported that Comet, captain of the sleigh team at the time, banned a young Rudolph from participating in his first reindeer games after his black nose covering accidentally slipped off.
“From now on, gang, we won’t let Rudolph join in any reindeer games, right?” Comet said.
The crowd jeered Rudolph. Instead of coming to Rudolph’s defense, Santa responded by backing Comet and berating Donner, Rudolph’s father, for allowing his son to try out. Donner had made Rudolph wear the faulty nose covering in an appalling lapse of parental judgment.
“Santa can’t object to you now!” Donner is recorded saying to Rudolph before the games.
The fiasco caused Rudolph to run away from the North Pole.
At this point, Rudolph had just completed the best takeoff of the year. Santa acknowledged this, yet nevertheless deemed Rudolph unfit for the sleigh team.
When the stakes are highest, merits cannot come second to petty North Polian identity politics.
Santa is well aware of his absolute rule over the North Pole and everything Christmas. Soon after meeting Rudolph and quipping that he would have to grow out of his red nose to make the sleigh team, Santa launched into a song about his status as the “King of Jingling.”
It is time for new leadership in the North Pole, no doubt. Santa, who treated Rudolph so poorly his entire life, had no standing when he requested that Rudolph singlehandedly save Christmas. It was a self-preserving endeavor more than anything, and Santa was only successful by a stroke of luck in the form of a glowing red nose.
It can’t take another crisis to bring us together — we may not have such an honorable reindeer to save us next time.
A futurist vision of a radically inclusive Christmas tradition is what will shepherd the holiday into the next generation. The immense responsibility of Christmas warrants this kind of foresight. Leaving it in the old-fashioned hands of Santa and his allies is no longer a risk I am willing to take.
Rudolph and Hermey saved Christmas Past. Now, it is our job to wrest power from the “King of Jingling,” and return it to North Polians who don’t want to be complicit in the poor treatment of reindeer like Rudolph.
Then — and only then — will we be able to save Christmases Yet to Come.
Aidan Klineman is a Medill junior and author of “Off-Campus: White House.” He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
