名複: drunkards
單選題
The character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has long been an essential part of Christmas, which means Christmas would be incomplete without it. However, Rudolph is undoubtedly a 20th-century invention whose creation can be traced back to a specific time and person. Rudolph came to life in 1939 when Chicago's Montgomery Ward company, which owned a chain of department stores, asked one of its employees, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to write a Christmas story that could be given away to shoppers as a promotional gift booklet. May, known for his talent for writing children's stories, was chosen for the job. Drawing in part on his own background (as a shy and small child, he was often laughed at by other children), May made use of the idea of a reindeer ridiculed by other reindeer for his glowing red nose. May named this deer Rudolph. He then worked on writing Rudolph's story in verse, and tested it on his 4-year-old daughter Barbara to see if she liked it. Although Barbara quite enjoyed Rudolph's story, May's boss was worried that a story featuring a red nose was unsuitable for a Christmas tale, as this image was associated with drinking and drunkards. May responded by taking an artist friend to a local zoo to sketch some deer. The illustrations of a red-nosed reindeer overcame the doubt of May's bosses, and the Rudolph story was approved. Nearly ten million copies of the Rudolph booklet were distributed by Montgomery Ward between 1939 and 1946.