Dental Do-Gooder to Alabaster Snowball
After decades of
dreaming about becoming a dentist, Hermey the Elf
was named DDG (Dental Do-Gooder) in November by the president of the American
Dental Association ADA)!
<iframe
width="480" height="360"
src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0uVcr-tXm-A?rel=0"
frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Hermey, Rudolph and some
of their friends have also been honored on a postage stamp. These stamps celebrate the 50th anniversary
of the much-loved holiday classic. Here
are Five Fun Facts:
1. According to
Ken Muller, brother of ‘Rudolph’ screenwriter Romeo Muller, the original name
for Hermey the Elf was supposed to be “Herbie” in honor of a childhood friend. Clarice (Rudolph’s girlfriend) was named after
the future bride of another friend.
2. Yukon Cornelius
has a diverse dog sled team. Instead of Siberian Huskies or Alaskan Malamutes,
his mixed team of pooches includes a Poodle, a Cocker Spaniel, a Saint Bernard,
a Dachshund and a Collie.
3. The animators
also created the character –narrator of Sam the Snowman to look like Burl Ives,
who was the voice for that part.
4. In the original
script, while Rudolph, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius promise to visit the Island
of Misfit Toys and bring them back, they never do so. After the show first
aired, Rankin-Bass, the production company, were inundated with letters from
concerned kids demanding that the Misfit Toys be rescued. To console the
children, they produced a short scene where Rudolph, Santa, and the rest of the
reindeer arrive on the Island and deliver the Misfits to new homes. This scene
has shown on TV since 1965. Kids rule!!
5. The original
puppets of Santa Claus and the younger Rudolph were eventually purchased by a
new owner after going on tour in 2007. Since they were in absolutely horrible
condition– Santa had half of his mustache missing while Rudolph was missing his
famous nose — the new owner spent $4,000 for them to be restored to mint
condition by stop-motion animation studio Screen Novelties International.
Even though we are celebrating
Hermey, DDG’s achievements there are other notable elves that we should
visit. Who remembers the Elf on the Shelf?
Elf on a shelf is a special “spy”
elf. This elf was sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his
naughty and nice lists. After the elf
arrives and is named, the scout elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to
the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day's
adventures. You definitely want to stay on this elf’s good side! The next day the scout elf returns to its
family and sits in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up
and race around the house looking for their scout elf each morning. Some came offering candy, like a chocolate
sampler box.
Finally, the serious
elves. Some believe that Santa employs six elves. Some think that there are as many as 13 elves
living with Santa to help him. Elves are the children of Gryla and Leppaludi
and are very clever. They help Santa to design toys and process requests of
children that are sent to them through snail mail or emails. The popular
Western names of the Christmas elves helping Santa Claus are:
·
Alabaster Snowball (Administrator of the Naughty
& Nice list)
·
Bushy Evergreen (Inventor of the magic
toy-making machine).
· Pepper Minstix (Guardian of the secret of where Father Christmas' village is located).
· Shinny Upatree (The oldest friend of Santa and the cofounder of the secret village in Lapland).
· Sugarplum Mary (Head of the Sweat Treats, she is also known as Mary Christmas. She is an assistant to Mrs. Claus and helps her in the kitchen).
· Wunorse Openslae (Designer of Father Christmas's sleigh and responsible for its maintenance. He also looks after the reindeers and it is believed that his reindeers reach speeds faster than Christmas tree lights.).
· Pepper Minstix (Guardian of the secret of where Father Christmas' village is located).
· Shinny Upatree (The oldest friend of Santa and the cofounder of the secret village in Lapland).
· Sugarplum Mary (Head of the Sweat Treats, she is also known as Mary Christmas. She is an assistant to Mrs. Claus and helps her in the kitchen).
· Wunorse Openslae (Designer of Father Christmas's sleigh and responsible for its maintenance. He also looks after the reindeers and it is believed that his reindeers reach speeds faster than Christmas tree lights.).
Now, you know more than
any of your family members about those mysterious elves! The ambitious Hermey. The “Traditional”, like Elf on the Shelf and
the “Real” (?), like Santa’s Helpers.
Add them to your celebrations and may you remain forever young this
holiday season.
George A. Malkemus, DDS
2 Padre Parkway Suite #200Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Phone: (707) 585-8595
No comments:
Post a Comment