Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

The idea that Santa Claus drives a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer is usually credited to Clement C. Moore (1779-1863). In 1822 Moore wrote a poem for children entitled 'A Visit from Saint Nicholas'. The poem, was officially published in 1844 and was the main reason for the establishment of Santa Claus in the United States. In the poem Moore refers to Santa's toy filled sleigh being pulled by eight flying reindeer. He named the reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (meaning 'thunder' in Dutch)and Blitzen (meaning 'lightning' in German).

In 1939 Robert L May, a department store worker at Montgomery Ward, wrote a poem entitled 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'. The store printed the poem and distributed it to children as a sales gimmick. In 1949 a friend of May's named Jonny Marks composed a song based on the story told in the poem. The song with the same name as the poem 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' was instantly popular and remains so today. Many recordings of the song have been made. His story has been told in 25 different languages at least and has even been made into a network television special...

Yule Ball

The custom of having a Yule Ball has existed in different forms over many years. From the eigthteenth century the Southern states of the United States held balls during the Christmas Season. The Texans celebrated with Christmas Eve Balls. The English celebrated the Twelfth Night of Christmas with a Costume or Mask Ball until the nineteenth century. More commonly now people celebrate New Years Eve with a Yule Ball.

Recently the 'Yule Ball' was made popular in the Harry Potter book and movie 'The Goblet of Fire', Chapter 23 is 'The Yule Ball'. The main event of this chapter, as indicated by the title, is the Yule Ball itself. During the ball, Harry learns things about several of his close friends, including Hagrid, Hermione and Ron. In the film, the Ball was presented as sort of a "wizard prom", with the dress robes of men resembling tuxedos.

The Yule Ball is know for Ron Weasley's row with Hermione Granger which divulged Ron's jealousy towards Krum, and showing his attraction to Hermione. Fans refer to the event as 'the Yule Brawl'.