Sitdown Santa: How did such an annoying Christmas song get so popular?

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

The day has finally come when people around the country will be opening presents, going to mass, enjoying Christmas dinner and seeing family and friends. 

If you fancy a quiet moment, why not settle down in a comfy chair and enjoy some of the best festive longreads from over the last few years.

1. How the most ‘annoying’ Christmas song became so popular

Surprisingly enough, a song about an elderly woman getting attacked by a wild animal became one of the most popular Christmas songs ever. It all started near the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, where the members of Randy Brooks’s country band were stranded because brakes on their van had frozen. This unfortunate turn of events led to Mr. Brooks and his bandmates watching the net act at the Hyatt Hotel – a group fronted by Elmo Shropshire and Patsy Trigg. Here’s the story behind the creation and popularity of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

(The New York Times, approx 16 minutes reading time)

“Whenever he played the song, his subversive ditty about a grandmother who gets drunk on eggnog, wanders out in the night and gets killed by Santa’s reindeer, audiences whooped and cheered. Mr. Shropshire and Ms. Trigg, who’d met Mr. Brooks that night, asked him to teach them the song backstage after the show.

“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” which Elmo & Patsy first released independently in 1979, has become as synonymous with the holiday season as week-old fruitcake and re-gifting. In 1983, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christmas Hits Singles chart, beating out Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Bobby Helms’s “Jingle Bell Rock.” It matched that feat again in 1984 and 1985, and charted on the Holiday 100 as recently as 2016.“

2. The anti-authoritarian history of Christmas carol

The history of Christmas carols demonstrates that, in all eras as with today, popular celebrations often resisted authority-imposed religious celebrations.

(The Walrus, approx 20 minutes reading time)

“In 1647, England’s puritan parliament banned Christmas Day festivities, among other celebrations. It was probably the closest one has ever been to an actual war on Christmas. It was waged by Protestants, puritans in particular, against a holiday that had become known for its drunkenness and debauchery and its association with Catholicism. The ban even included private celebrations at home and triggered riots against the government.“

3. The dead-wife mom Christmas movie trope

Have you noticed that a dead-too-soon wife or mom, or possibly both, is a common theme of many Christmas movies? Well, Cat Modlin-Jackson thinks there is. She argues that filmmakers believe the holiday season is a good time for closure, and viewers will feel sympathy for a plot on a character’s grief.

(Longreads, approx 15 minutes reading time)

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“The first Christmas my sister-in-law was dead, I watched The Holiday. Early in the movie, Cameron Diaz freaks out when she thinks her love interest, Jude Law, is a cheater. She rushes to his house to demand an explanation, and while his two young daughters frolic in the background next to a Christmas tree, he mouths the word “widower.” She responds with a blend of sympathy and solace. In lightning fashion, her reply whips from essentially, Oh god, that’s horrible, to Anyway, moving on! What happens next?! His grief is her relief. Look, I get it: I’d also be relieved to find out my new bonk buddy wasn’t a philanderer. I’m not mad at Cameron; I’m mad that the dead wife-mom is a plot device in more Christmas movies than I can stuff in a stocking.”

4.  History of the Muppets Christmas Carol

A remake of Charles Dickens novel using animal puppets seems like it shouldn’t work, but over 30 years’ later the movie is still treasured by many people. Director Brian Henson, Gonzo performer Dave Goelz, young Scrooge Raymond Coulthard, Cousin Fred Steven Mackintosh and singer Meredith Braun reflect on the movie that saved the Muppets following the sudden death of Jim Henson.

(The Independent, approx 17 minutes reading time)

“There are Christmas movies, then there’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. In the years since its arrival in 1992, this surprisingly dedicated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ defining redemption story has emerged as a modern classic, dripping with nostalgia and indelibly linked to the childhood of a generation thanks to countless festive repeats. Full of memorable moments, beloved songs and that warm, fuzzy, festive feeling – for many, it’s just not Christmas until you’ve seen a frog in a top hat teach Michael Caine’s Scrooge the importance of empathy.”

5. Christmas on the moon

What’s the weirdest place you’ve spent Christmas? Harrison Scott Key spent it guarding $100,000 (€86,000) worth of explosives on the surface of the moon.

(Longreads, approx 20 minutes reading time).

“I have enjoyed many happy Christmases and plenty of disappointing ones, like the one I spent eating alone at a Waffle House due to an ice storm, or the Christmas my father accused all the unmarried relatives of being gay. But of all the sad Yuletides of my life, the one I spent guarding $100,000 worth of explosives on the surface of the moon tops the list. The year was 1996. I was 21 years old and, in a way, quite homeless. Home is one of the enduring themes of Christmas, the joy of being in its midst and the thundering melancholy of longing for it, wondering if you can ever really get that feeling of belonging back—if you ever had it in the first place.”

6. Christmas movie reviews

As part of her seasonal Christmas movie reviews, film critic Helen O’Hara has shared her thoughts on Netflix Christmas movies.

(Bah Humbug, 31 minutes listening time)

“Are Netflix raising their game on Christmas movies? Or just softening us up for My Secret Santa? Your host, Helen O’Hara, assesses the contenders with guest Olly Richards. First up is Alicia Silverstone in A Merry Little Ex-Mas, trying to bring that Clueless magic to a tale of a divorced couple trying to negotiate their first Christmas apart. Then we look at Champagne Problems, wherein Minka Kelly flies to Paris to buy some sparkling wine and instead ends up in a fizzy rom-com. And yes, these are Christmas movies, we’re still judging on a curve. But are there signs of actual quality here? The answer may surprise you!”

7. A very Irish Christmas

How many memorable Irish Christmas traditions do you know?

(RTÉ, approx seven minutes reading time)

“In Ireland today, Christmas is a near month-long celebration of consumerism and partying, but our ancestors celebrated it in a much more subdued and humble way. It revolved around the religious Christian celebration and featured respite from work and was a festive time to look forward to in the dark winter evenings. In the past, as now, the excitement and pre-Christmas build up is often more fun than the occasion of Christmas day itself. Christmas itself, broadly speaking, is a Christianisation of those ancient midwinter festivals marking the winter solstice.”

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