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FatherTime
Performer: Red Skelton
Appears in:
Rudolph's Shiny New Year

Father Time is a mythical figure who is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, somewhat worse for wear, dressed in a robe, carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device (which represents time's constant one-way movement, and more generally and abstractly, entropy). This image derives from several sources, including the Grim Reaper and Chronos, the Greek god Lord of time in Greek mythology. Around New Year's Eve, many editorial cartoons use the convenient trope of Father Time as the personification of the previous year (or "the Old Year") who typically "hands over" the duties of time to the equally allegorical Baby New Year (or "the New Year") who otherwise characterizes the preceding year.

Appearances in holiday specials[]

Rudolph's Shiny New Year[]

In Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Father Time is the keeper of the passage of time, who lives in a castle located directly below a bright and shining star in the northern skies. Visitors to his fortress are required to trek across the sands of time, such as was the case for Rudolph, who was aided in this effort by General Ticker and The Great Quarter Past Five.

One of father time's duties is to oversee the ending of the old year, and the crowning of the new year every December 31st. An old friend of Santa Claus, Father Time calls upon the younger man to provide assistance when Happy, the baby new year has gone missing. Unable to search for the new year himself, he sends Santa's reindeer Rudolph, who has just come back from an entire night of journeying aroudn the entire world, out to find the wandering baby.

Father Time also serves as narrator of the story, and relates the events to the audience as well as the history of time in song to Rudolph.

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