The lyrics to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”:

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw it

You might even say it glows

And all of the other reindeer

Used to laugh and call him names

They never let poor Rudolph

Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say:

“Rudolph, with your nose so bright

Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Then how the reindeers loved him,

As they shouted out with glee

“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

You’ll go down in history”

This song is about Ayn Rand’s concept of rational self-interest and the miracle of capitalism. Rudolph, ostracized from the reindeer social group for what is essentially racism, goes from a hopeless exile to lauded hero after the group realizes his utility in the pursuit of a common goal. This cooperation is not based on altruism or self-sacrifice, but on a recognition of mutual benefit.

Rand also emphasized the importance of the individual, and the unique qualities that each person brings to an organization (in this case, Rudolph to Santa Claus’s organization). When individuals act based on rational self-interest, they naturally seek out those who can help them achieve their goals, regardless of any personal feelings or prejudices.

It’s often said that Christmas is a capitalist holiday:

The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions — the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors —provide the city with a spectacular display, which only ‘commercial greed’ could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.¹

Perhaps it is, and is worthy of celebration after all.