Christmas television special

American television

In American television, a Christmas television special is typically a one-time, 30 minute animated program aired during the Christmas season. Some are extended episodes of currently running television series featuring the regular characters dealing with Christmas. Some specials are of a more variety show nature, featuring celebrities and/or singers and musical numbers and short skits.

Related Topics:
Christmas - Television special - Variety show

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All such specials are naturally strongly Christmas themed, but usually forgo the religious aspects of the holiday to concentrate on more general themes of giving, and goodwill towards others.

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Christmas television specials are also where non-animated characters from other media may first cross over into animation; examples include the Peanuts comic strip, the Bloom County comic strip, and the Dr. Seuss children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The first episode of The Simpsons (1989) was a Christmas special, also known as "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire."

Related Topics:
Peanuts - Bloom County - Dr. Seuss - The Simpsons - Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

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The Rankin-Bass animation studio is well known for its many holiday specials, including the stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which CBS has shown annually since 1964, and the animated Frosty the Snowman.

Related Topics:
Rankin-Bass - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Frosty the Snowman

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