What? How can there be only one week left until
Christmas morning? Where did the time
go? Whatever will we do?
(Oh. Wait.
I have my holiday stuff completed.
Nevermind.)
That
being said, if you do have time today, why not give Day
#18 of A
POP CULTURE ADDICT'S ADVENT CALENDAR a try?
In
fact, I promise you that this TUBE TALK THURSDAY blog entry will not only
celebrate Christmas, but a couple of other holidays as well! I thought that the cartoon Rugrats did a
phenomenal job with taking two holidays and merging them together as the
Pickles family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah. But believe it or not, I found another
example of people celebrating different holidays coming together to understand
each other's celebrations and traditions.
Would
you believe that I happened to come across this special on PBS of all
places? Very intriguing, isn't it?
Anyway,
the reason why I wanted to talk about a special that incorporated all holidays
is simple. Yes, there are seven days
left until Christmas. But there are
also eight days left until Kwanzaa kicks off on December 26. And Hanukkah is already in full swing with
festivities beginning on December 16.
Even though my family traditions are always centered around Christmas, I
would actually love to take part in other holiday celebrations, just so I could
learn more about them.
And
that's one thing I will say about this holiday special. The writers did a brilliant job researching
all of the different holidays and writing a one-hour holiday special that is
intelligent, heartwarming, and most importantly, entertaining.
I'm
sure that most of you from a younger demographic than I have seen at least one
episode of "Arthur". The
television series debuted in 1996 on PBS and is still going strong today! The series, of course, was based on the
long-running children's book series penned by author Mark Brown that kicked off
in 1976 with "Arthur's Nose".
Wait. Arthur is 38 years old? Wow, he looks good. Still has his baby face and everything!
I
know. I josh. Arthur ages about as slowly as "The Simpsons". But really, the show is one of PBS' huge
success stories. I wouldn't be surprised
if it were one of the most watched shows on PBS alongside "Sesame
Street" and "Downton Abbey".
Well,
on November 24, 2000, "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" first aired on
PBS. Since then, the show is re-aired
on PBS around the holiday season, and has since been released on VHS and
DVD. And, in one word, Arthur's Perfect
Christmas is as close to perfection as a children's holidays special could be.
I
should probably note that I was nineteen when this special first aired, so I
was quite out of the target demographic at this point. I just happened to come across it when
flipping through channels one Christmas Eve, and this happened to be on the
air. I sat and watched it and loved the
whole thing.
The
title of this special basically describes the main plot of the show. Arthur wants to have the perfect Christmas
celebration ever, and he even made a list of all of the things he wants to have
happen for Christmas.
ARTHUR'S CHRISTMAS LIST
1. A
large amount of snow
2. An
amazing dinner - turkey and the whole works
3. A
spectacular Christmas tree - most importantly, one without tinsel
4.
Everyone will love the presents he gets for them
Wow. Arthur's Christmas list is...how do I put
this...grown-up! Instead of asking for
every toy ever found inside the Sears Wish Book, he asks for some practical
things. I especially love his fourth
item on the list. Isn't that what we
all want? For people to love the gifts
that we gave them? Oh, and on a
personal note, I so agree with his third item.
I HATE tinsel on Christmas trees.
Do you know how aggravating it is to vacuum up tinsel that has fallen on
the floor?
But
does Arthur's Christmas go exactly as planned?
Well...not exactly. You see,
there are other subplots that are unfolding in the community of Elwood City,
and these subplots may cause Arthur's Christmas to become less than perfect.
Take
Arthur's little sister, D.W., for example.
D.W. only has one thing on her Christmas list this year - Tina the
Talking Tabby. Problem is, she sent her
Christmas list out late in the season, and by the time Santa gets the letter,
there are no more Tina the Talking Tabby dolls to be found. Instead, D.W. is given a substitute gift of
Quackers the duck, which puts her in a rather foul mood, and causes her to have
a self-pity fueled temper tantrum in response.
Uncle
Fred is excited to be spending the Christmas holidays in Florida, but his car breaks
down in the middle of Elwood City, and he is forced to stay with the Reads
family for Christmas instead, which causes his plans to be shelved.
Arthur's
friends Muffy and Francine have a huge falling out just before Christmas. Muffy is set to plan the largest holiday
bash ever seen in Elwood City, as her family just happens to be the richest
family in Elwood City and can afford to throw a party. And Muffy insists on inviting the whole
school to her party. The problem is
that Francine cannot go. As Francine is
Jewish, her family celebrates Hanukkah, and a key event in their family
Hanukkah celebrations coincides with Muffy's party. And when Francine declines Muffy's invitation, a furious Muffy
tells her that she doesn't understand why she won't go, as she doesn't consider
Hanukkah to be as important as Christmas.
This naturally ticks Francine off, and she refuses to even have anything
more to do with Muffy!
And
even the happy-go-lucky Baxter Bunny is having issues getting into the holiday
spirit. Since his parents got divorced,
he has found it hard to deal with the new reality that his parents will be
separated this Christmas. Arthur and
his friends give Baxter a rather interesting suggestion - create his own
holiday and call it Baxter Day. The
idea is met with great trepidation on Baxter's part, but he agrees that it
might be worth a try. But in
preparation for the event, Baxter's brain seems to be in overdrive. And, let's just say that his scrambled egg
brain causes him to bake some rather...interesting treats for the homeless
shelter residents to whom he delivers goodies to every Christmas.
Elsewhere
in the city, Brain's family carry out the traditions of a typical Kwanzaa
celebration, and George's family observes Saint Lucia Day to pay tribute to
their Swedish heritage.
So,
we have a whole lot of different plots and different celebrations going on, and
a lot of conflicts between Arthur and his friends. What do you think happens?
Oh, and do stick around. The final stretch of the advent calendar is fast approaching. And I have saved the best for last!
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