CHICAGO, IL (December 2, 2015) — There are two important cultural anniversaries this Christmas season. It is the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas and the 25th anniversary of Home Alone.
The former gave us the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack and perhaps the best-ever presentation of the meaning of Christmas on a TV show, when Linus takes center stage to recite Luke 2:8-14. USA Today notes that it was one of the only specials to reference the religious holiday.
Home Alone has caused millions to laugh as Macaulay Culkin screamed and outsmarted two criminals.
In many families, watching these shows and other classics has become as much a family tradition as decorating the tree. Parents love seeing their children laugh at the same lines and the same scenes as they did when they were younger: Ralphie scheming his way to getting a Red Ryder BB gun in A Christmas Story, or Chevy Chase trying to outdo his neighbor’s holiday light display in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
No matter how many times viewers have watched It’s a Wonderful Life, or Miracle on 34th Street, they still experience the emotional rollercoaster every time while George Bailey loses everything and gains back even more, and the world discovers there is something real about Santa.
Classics have transcended and even defied the test of time. CBS executives who screened A Charlie Brown Christmas before it was aired in 1965 were disappointed and thought it would never air again after its first broadcast. In an age of computer-generated animation, nothing can replace Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, or Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Let us know on our CovMagazine Facebook page which holiday movie or TV shows are among your Top Three favorites. (Because who can name just one?)
