'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' celebrates 50

2014 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most beloved holiday classics of all time, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Rudolph originally premiered on NBC on Dec. 6, 1964, and is still loved by children and adults alike.

"The Rankin-Bass animated film production company used Japanese puppets and stop motion to tell the tale," said CNN writer, Lisa Respers France.

The story follows Rudolph, the son of Santa Claus's reindeer, Donner, and his wife. With a bright, glowing, red nose, Rudolph stands out from all the other reindeer. He runs away, and meets an elf who wants to be a dentist, and an explorer searching for silver and gold. They all end up at the Island of Misfit Toys.

Eventually, just like the popular song from 1949, Rudolph guides Santa Claus through a blizzard that is threatening to ruin Christmas, and saves the day.

According to France, "The special has been shown every year since it premiered, which gives it a leg up over other beloved shows like 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and 'Frosty the Snowman' and makes it the longest–running program of its type. And viewers still love it."

In honor of the half-century milestone, the United States Postal Service released four popular Rudolph characters on some of their 2014 holiday stamps, including Rudolph, Santa, Hermey and Bumble.

A specific post office in Rudolph, Wis., also honored the beloved character's 50th birthday.

The post office offered a special mid-month cancellation postmark stamp, as well as a special stamp which featured a picture of the small reindeer and read "Rudolph, Wisconsin - home of Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer."

According to an article by Carrie Antlfinger for the Associated Press, the Rudolph post office usually gets 10,000 cards for their special mid-month cancellation postmark, and this year there was 16,000.

"Postmaster Becky Trzebiatowski attributed the increase to the special stamps honoring the 50th anniversary of the 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' television special," Antlfinger said.

The classic movie was shown on national networks earlier this month and can be purchased on Blu-ray and DVD.