Christmas & the Media

Radio and TV stations popularise Christmas by broadcasting Christmas carols and Christmas songs. Many TV shows celebrate the holiday with a "Christmas Special" episode. In addition to popular music, classical music like the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's The Messiah may also be played.

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U.S. media Christmas

In the United States, most family-oriented TV series also produce a Christmas special. Stand-alone Christmas specials are also popular, from newly created animated shorts and movies to repeats of those that were popular in previous years Also, some local affiliates provide the "Yule Log," a block of time on Christmas morning devoted to nothing but a footage of a fireplace coupled with popular Christmas music.

A number of modern fictional Christmas stories have been adapted to movies and TV specials and become very popular. These stories have been broadcast and repeated many times on TV over the years. Beginning with the popularization of home video during the 1980s, these Christmas specials have seen numerous video editions, and they are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Some popular fictional Christmas specials include:

UK media Christmas

In the United Kingdom some popular shows have become Christmas institutions: for example, Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies, Only Fools and Horses, Top of the Pops. HM Queen Elizabeth II annually broadcasts a 10-minute speech on Christmas Day at 3 p.m., charting her views of the past year and giving her own reflections and advice. Also, the popular animated tale The Snowman is screened every Christmas on Channel 4, and a new story, The Bear, by the same artist and company, is usually broadcast around the same time.

In the United Kingdom, the music industry features the battle of bands and artists to make it to the 'Christmas No. 1' spot, which is always recognised on the first Sunday before, or on, Christmas Day. Many of these songs are extremely festive (for example, Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" from 1973), while others are novelty songs that remain at the top of the chart for one week only (such as Mr. Blobby's "Mr. Blobby" from 1993). Gospel singer Cliff Richard has been recognised as a fixture of Christmas charts, appearing nearly every year in the run-up to Christmas and subsequently being mocked for doing so.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia and from ShiningRise.com

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