Requiem For A Reindeer?

When I was a little girl, I looked forward to Christmas with the wonder and excitement of any child. A huge part of my Christmas anticipation scenario was anxiously awaiting the Big 4 on TV: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty The Snowman, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, and, my personal favorite, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. These programs were as crucial to defining my whole experience of Christmas as the stockings or ornaments. These were special events...they could only be seen at this time of the year, and only once a year! Talk about must-see TV!

Maybe it's because kids see everything they want whenever they want, thanks to modern technology, but they are so jaded now! Nothing in their viewing life imbues in them that sense of anticipation - that excitement - that we felt when we devoured those spectacles. Isn't that sad?

That is what I fear is really dead...the specialness of these season-defining shows, and the warm feelings they evoke.

Here's what happened to convince me that the magic is gone...

Every day at my daycare, from 1:00 to 3:00 we have quiet time. Yesterday, I thought I'd treat the children to some Christmas movies to mark our first day together in December. I put on Rudolph and stole away from my sink of pots and pans to watch with them. My goodness, you'd think I was asking them to sit still and become engrossed in the Whitewater Hearings!

They couldn't have been less interested!

I was mortified. "It's Rudolph...how can they not be enamored?" I wondered...

I really have processed this through my "get-a-grip-erator..." I've considered the possibility that maybe, by today's standards, the story of Rudolph is just lame. (Or, as my darling Sweetie points out, maybe it always was...) But kids watch much lamer crap than Rudolph every day of the year! And if any adult is qualified to assess the crap value of children's entertainment...I do believe it's me! In my opinion, Rudolph is perfectly fine entertainment...enough fun, enough substance and it doesn't patronize.

Here's a song I always loved from Rudolph, sung by his girlfriend, Clarice. Here's a pathetic confession...when I was in high school French class I chose Clarice as my French name because of this animatronic doe!



Rudolph always connected with me. It has interesting characters who are well-developed and involved in complicated relationships. It illustrates fine examples of accepting diversity and remaining loyal to friends. What more do you need? I never failed to become engrossed, and invariably cried when it was over.

I consider Rudolph a symbol of the holidays, which, like Rudolph, we eagerly anticipate all year long. To have a "ho-hum" attitude about Rudolph is like having a "ho-hum" attitude about Christmas...a sad state for children. There's plenty of time for holiday ambivalence when we're adults! I just hope that this lack of enthusiasm doesn't signify the death of pure excitement for precious moments in life. We get to enjoy those for such a short time as it is...

That would truly be a loss to mourn.



Oh, and just in case you're an old sentimentalist like me, coincidentally, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer airs tonight on CBS.