Christmas Specials

It’s that time of year again. Whether or not you are of certain religion, in my opinion, is irrelevant at this point. You don’t need to be a Christian to enjoy the heartfelt transformation of the previously grouchy Grinch. Similarly, you don’t need to be Jewish to appreciate the adorable misunderstandings of the Rugrats in “A Rugrats Chanukah.”  Yet, I can’t help but feel there’s an abundance of specials revolving around a specific holiday during this time of year. Perhaps it’s just the channels I’m watching, but with specials such as ABC’s “The 25 Days of Christmas,” I can’t help but feel like Christmas has a superfluous amount of holiday specials.

Now, I don’t mean to attack Christmas here. Truthfully, I was born and raised a Catholic, so I grew up on these specials. However, I can’t help but ponder, “Why is Christmas so targeted for holiday specials? What makes this religious holiday so special for specials?” Let me try and break down why I believe it’s so well received on television.

The first thing you may notice after watching any Christmas show or movie is the childish nature present in most of them. A snowman magically coming to life and travelling to the North Pole with Santa doesn’t exactly seem plausible. This would be because the companies are, not so surprisingly, attempting to target children. Many children simply love the idea of Santa. Growing up, I can remember staying up as late as I could on Christmas Eve, just to get a glimpse of the myth. After falling asleep, I’d only to wake up to a tray of eaten cookies and mixed feelings about not seeing the man, but having a room full of presents.

It makes sense, too. Santa is a jolly old man who gives children free things. I honestly can’t think of an adult that a child would both idolize and fear more. With such a jolly and omnipresent mascot, Christmas is probably the best holiday to capitalize on. After all, regardless of its roots in religion, Christmas is celebrated in a very capitalistic way. So why let retail stores have all the fun?

If we take this fact alone into consideration, what better reason to have a bunch of Christmas specials? If children love this being, what better way to get them to watch a show than to include him in it? On top of that, if you give the specials a general family-like feel through lessons of love, friendship, and selflessness, you’re more likely to get entire families to watch. So by targeting the children, television stations have the possibility of including entire families in their viewer count.

I honestly can’t think of any other reason Christmas would be so well received on television. How many Christmas specials have you seen without Santa in them? Christmas specials that really dig into the religion behind it? Go ahead. Find a popular one. I’ll wait…

Couldn’t find one? Neither could I. On the other hand, Hanukkah has the special “A Rugrats Chanukah” to delve into the religious details of the holiday. It’s done in a tasteful, yet informative way which also appeals to children, being a popular kids show back in the day. So although Christmas is more televised, who’s the real winner here?

                Though Christmas specials may revolve around a specific religion, it doesn’t mean it’s doing a lot of good for that religion. In fact, if you think about the celebration of Christmas in today’s society, it’ extremely loosely based on religion. Giving presents was meant as a reminder that the three wise men bought the baby Jesus presents. Bringing Santa into the picture pretty much pushes out any religious underlying altogether, teaching children they get presents because they were good.

                Am I opposed to this? No. It universalizes the holiday. I think that by doing this it gives more people a reason to celebrate the holiday and bring families together. It’s a beautiful thing to me, really. For more religious fanatics though, it’s a bit of a downer.

                So if you happen to be one of those religious people who can’t stand Christmas specials because you’re not Christian, attempt to enjoy it for its lessons and familial undertones. Attempt to enjoy it because it’s fun to watch. And since you obviously care about your own religion a lot, attempt to enjoy it because it’s not deterring the attention from your holiday’s religious background.