Editing Christmas by medium (section)

==Television specials and episodes==
{{see|List of Christmas television specials}}

Before 1962, when ''[[Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' premiered, true Christmas specials made for TV were either adaptations of stories such as ''A Christmas Carol'' (with live actors), or the Nativity Story, or episodes of variety shows highlighting Christmas music. They were often hosted by such celebrities as [[Perry Como]], [[Jane Wyatt]], or [[Florence Henderson]]. (A notable exception was ''[[The Spirit of Christmas (TV program)|The Spirit of Christmas]]'' in 1950, which, although featuring an appearance by [[Alexander Scourby]], who also narrated, starred the Mabel Beaton Marionettes.)

This all changed once variety shows began dying out in the late 1980s and Rankin-Bass began producing more and more Christmas specials.

One notable television special usually seen at Christmas was ''[[Amahl and the Night Visitors]]'', commissioned by [[NBC]] and telecast annually in the U.S. from 1951 to 1966. It was the first opera written especially for television. Composed by [[Gian-Carlo Menotti]] with a libretto in English by the composer, the opera told of a disabled beggar boy living with his (presumably) widowed mother in the Holy Land. They are visited by the Three Wise Men who are on their way to see the Christ Child, and when Amahl offers his crutch as a gift, he is miraculously cured. In 1978, it returned to television, with less success.

===United Kingdom===
{{see|List of Christmas television episodes and specials in the United Kingdom}}

TV programmes which have had special Christmas episodes in the [[United Kingdom]] include ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' (from 1960s-2006), ''[[Morecambe and Wise]]'' (1970s), ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' (1980s), ''[[Stars in Their Eyes]]'', ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' (both 1990s), and more recently, ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' (both 2000s), ''[[Downton Abbey]]'' (2010s), ''[[The Repair Shop]]'' and ''[[The Masked Singer (British TV series)|The Masked Singer]]'' (both 2020s).

The 1982 animated tale ''[[The Snowman]]'' has been screened for many years during the Christmas period (usually Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), and the 1991 short animated film, ''[[Father Christmas (1991 film)|Father Christmas]]'', by the same artist and company, is usually broadcast around the same time.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Adaptations of novels from [[Charles Dickens]] are also common around Christmas time.  Along with ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' (the most popular due to its Christmas season setting, and the message portrayed), these also include ''[[Bleak House (2005 TV serial)|Bleak House]]'' (2005), ''[[Oliver Twist (2007 TV miniseries)|Oliver Twist]]'' (2007) and ''[[Great Expectations (2011 TV serial)|Great Expectations]]'' (2011), among others. These adaptations usually feature [[all-star]] casts.

Christmas Day begins at 12 at night with the showing of [[Mass (Catholic Church)#Time of celebration of Mass|Midnight Mass]] on the [[BBC]]. In addition, the monarch annually broadcasts a [[Royal Christmas Message|10-minute speech]] on Christmas Day at 3 p.m. Many long-running British [[soap opera]]s have Christmas specials, usually involving a dramatic storyline developed over several weeks which culminates at Christmas. Often these stories are tragic, involving a death, divorce, a dramatic revelation or similar event.

Most Christmas specials in the UK are specially commissioned separately to a [[production season]], and many are extended from the usual episode length.  For example, [[Voyage of the Damned (Doctor Who)|the 2007 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special]] was 71 minutes as opposed to the standard 45 minutes, was broadcast six months after the third series had finished and four months before the fourth series started. UK Christmas specials may or may not feature the holiday itself as part of the narrative.

While the season receives almost universal acknowledgement on British TV, some channels and programmes have tried "alternative" or "anti-Christmas" ideas. One example is [[Channel 4]] which has run an [[Alternative Christmas message]] since 1993. In 2009, two movie channels renamed themselves for the season; [[Sky Movies|Sky Movies Screen 2]] became ''Sky Movies Christmas Channel'' and [[Movies 24]] became ''Christmas 24''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/oct/15/sky-movies-christmas-channel|title=Sky Movies lines up Christmas Channel|date=15 October 2009|work=The Guardian |location=UK  | first=John | last=Plunkett | access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> From 2010, changes to Sky Movies line-up meant that Sky Movies Showcase was used for Sky Movies Christmas Channel. On 16 November 2012, two music channels renamed themselves; [[Bliss (TV channel)|Bliss]] became ''Blissmas'' and [[Greatest Hits TV]] was rebranded as ''Christmas Hits TV''.

===United States===
{{See|List of United States Christmas television specials|List of United States Christmas television episodes}}

In the United States, many television series (particularly those of a family-oriented nature) produce a Christmas episode, although seldom outside of a season's production block. Stand-alone Christmas specials are also popular, from newly created animated shorts and movies to repeats of those that were popular in previous years, such as ''[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' and ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]''. Some local affiliates provide the ''[[Yule Log (TV program)|Yule Log]],'' a block of time either on Christmas morning or both during the evening hours of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning showing footage of a fireplace, coupled with popular Christmas music. Some local affiliates that provide the ''Yule Log'' simulcast Christmas music from a radio station playing it.

Every [[Christmas Day]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (since 1996) airs a [[Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade|Christmas parade at Walt Disney World Resort]] and along with its sister cable network, [[ESPN]] (since they jointly acquired broadcast rights to the league in 2002), [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] [[National Basketball Association Christmas games|games]] featuring some of the league's best teams and players, broadcasting a doubleheader (or as many as five games between the two networks in certain years);<ref name=Lakers/><ref name=NBA/>  the NBA's Christmas Day games are notable as they historically serve as the league's first game telecasts on over-the-air network television each season. [[NBC]] airs the [[Midnight Mass|Vatican Midnight Mass service]] at [[St. Peter's Basilica]] on Christmas Eve night (having broadcast the service annually since 1972, typically in place of the network's regular late-night programming), and usually airs an ice skating special (often on the weekend prior to or of the holiday).<ref name=Lakers>{{cite news|title=Christmas Tradition|newspaper=The Riverside (Ca.) Press-Enterprise|date=December 24, 2009|page=B1|first=Jeff|last=Eisenberg}}</ref><ref name=NBA>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/john_schuhmann/12/17/numbers.christmas/index.html|title=Knicks, Kobe and more part of Christmas Day lore|date=December 17, 2009|access-date=December 27, 2010|first=John|last=Schuhmann|work=NBA.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202114508/http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/john_schuhmann/12/17/numbers.christmas/index.html|archive-date=December 2, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/art_garcia/12/13/christmas.history/index.html|title=Christmas Day clashes bring back fond memories|date=December 21, 2009|access-date=December 27, 2010|first=Art|last=Garcia|work=NBA.com}}</ref>  Additionally, [[CBS]] usually airs [[college basketball]] games the day after Christmas while NBC airs a [[Premier League]] [[soccer]] match that same day.

Christmas specials based on [[classical music]] have also been well received. Among them, in addition to the previously mentioned ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'', have been the many telecasts of the ballet ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', and [[concert]] specials featuring musicians such as the [[Boston Pops]], the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]], the [[Cincinnati Pops]], and the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]] and Chorus.