"What is it about a television Christmas special that gets us all in our feels? Even in a world where you can click buy or rent or play on nearly every piece of entertainment you can think of, there's still something about gathering around the TV at 8 p.m. to watch a Christmas special the moment it airs. Some Christmas specials have taken on a life of their own,"
"Like so many of our favorite things about Christmas - stocking stuffers, Christmas trees, outdoor inflatables - Christmas specials owe a lot to good ol' commercialism. (Yes, this is an argument we've been having since before Miracle on 34th Street in 1947.) Television took a minute to kick off, so Christmas radio specials were absolutely a thing, but after a 1962 NBC showing of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol had surprising success,"
Television Christmas specials function as near-universal family traditions that prompt communal viewing at scheduled times and create strong nostalgic bonds. Streaming services now curate holiday episodes, but the impulse to gather around the television at a specific hour remains powerful. Iconic specials have become enduring pop culture phenomena that spawn merchandise, décor, and franchises. Commercial interests heavily influenced the rise of holiday specials, with radio precursors and a 1962 NBC success for Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol spurring advertisers to invest in televised holiday content. Rudolph began as a Montgomery Ward commissioned advertising children's book and later became a televised classic.
Read at Scary Mommy
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]