# What do you watch on Christmas Day in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760 "2010-08-19T18:02:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/1 "2010-08-19T18:02:46Z")
Reading the frequent threads on Dr Who, such as [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=574976) got me thinking about Christmas TV, as that’s the only time I watch it. On Christmas Day, it feels like tradition that, after a big lunch, the whole nation sits down to watch [The Queen’s Speech](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Christmas_Message), the [Eastenders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders) Christmas Special and the [Dr Who](http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw) Christmas Special. So, despite all the myriad of viewing options provided by cable, we’re all stuck on BBC 1. Is there an equivalent in the US? Or are you all outside shooting hoops 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/2 "2010-08-19T18:06:30Z")
The Yule Log. 🙂 > **[Yule Log (TV program)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_Log_%28TV_program%29)** > > The Yule Log is a television show originating in the United States, which is broadcast traditionally on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. It originally aired from 1966 to 1989 on New York City television station WPIX (channel 11), which revived the broadcast in 2001. A radio simulcast of the musical portion was broadcast by WPIX-TV's former sister station, WPIX-FM (101.9 FM, now WFAN-FM), until 1988. > The show, which has run between two and four hours in duration, is a film loop of a yule log b... ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/3 "2010-08-19T18:08:27Z")
_A Christmas Story_. _It’s a Wonderful Life_. But, no, other than those two obviously-themed movies, I can’t think of any regular TV show like those UK traditions. The NBA has tried putting basketball games on Christmas Day, but I don’t know anybody who makes a habit of watching them. ETA: And, duh, I didn’t say the obvious: I guess the NBA figures nobody will be out shooting hoops in the snow on Christmas! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/4 "2010-08-19T18:09:09Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > The Yule Log. 🙂 > > [Yule Log (TV program) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_Log_%28TV_program%29) HA! Sounds more captivating than the Queen’s speech. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/5 "2010-08-19T18:10:18Z")
There’s usually a football game on…either a college bowl game or NFL. However, if the game does not feature either the New Orleans Saints, Mississippi State Bulldogs, or the Crimson Tide of Alabama, watching is verbotten until after the tree and such, which fills the early afternoon. I tolerate this so long as my mother lives. Once she’s gone, I’m done with Christmas, other than enjoying time off work and football. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/6 "2010-08-19T18:10:52Z")
People watch TV on Christmas day? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/7 "2010-08-19T18:10:57Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > ETA: And, duh, I didn’t say the obvious: I guess the NBA figures nobody will be out shooting hoops in the snow on Christmas! What! So all those Hollywood movies have misled me! Or maybe that was Thanksgiving… but you watch football on TG, correct? ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/8 "2010-08-19T18:11:48Z")
“A Christmas Story” for me. I read last year that in Sweden Donald Duck is a big part of their Christmas tradition: > **[Sweden’s Bizarre Tradition of Watching Donald Duck Cartoons on Christmas Eve](https://slate.com/culture/2009/12/sweden-s-bizarre-tradition-of-watching-donald-duck-kalle-anka-cartoons-on-christmas-eve.html)** > > Three years ago, I went to Sweden with my then-girlfriend (now-wife), to meet her family and celebrate my first Christmas. As an only partially lapsed... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/9 "2010-08-19T18:16:43Z")
There isn’t any single thing, as there seems to be in Britain. No Presidential Christmas Speech. No (fill in name of popular TV show) marathon. I know that WPIX out of New York has been running its tape of a burning Yule Log for decades, now, and apparently others have picked up the tradition. Because it was in the public domain and was about Christmas, a lot of places show **It’s a Wonderful Life** , as noted above (although I , personally, don’t recall ever seeing it on TV, let alone on Christmas). Or cable started running **a Christmas Story** many years ago. I know that, realizing nobody’s watching, some stations run **Star Wars** marathons, or the like. When I was a kid, independent stations ran whatever cartoons they could get cheap, so I saw **Gulliver’s travels** and Popeye cartoons a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/10 "2010-08-19T18:18:38Z")
\*\*“A Christmas Story” \*\*is on 24 hr rotation on Christmas (on TBS or TNT), so usually that’s playing in the background. (Well, and for the past few years, the \*\*Doctor Who \*\*specials & various other programs that I managed to download after they aired that day in the UK.) ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/11 "2010-08-19T18:19:03Z")
Odd time of the year to start this thread. I will say that one year both my GF and me couldn’t get home for xmas and xmas eve. My assignment was food and entertainment for Xmas eve. I cooked a wonderful dinner, pork loin, mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and pumpkin pie were the highlights. My movie choice: _Leaving Las Vegas_ kind of a depressing movie on xmas eve. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/12 "2010-08-19T18:21:08Z")
John Fucking Wayne. All day. That’s what’s on at my parents’ house - even my mom can’t stand it, but Dad loves the Duke. I don’t live there anymore, of course, but I still have to come over pretty early to help with dinner. John Wayne. The day is an eternity. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/13 "2010-08-19T18:23:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Or cable started running **a Christmas Story** many years ago. I know that, realizing nobody’s watching, some stations run **Star Wars** marathons, or the like. When I was a kid, independent stations ran whatever cartoons they could get cheap, so I saw **Gulliver’s travels** and Popeye cartoons a lot. Wow, it’s the complete reverse in the UK - the major channels compete hard for viewers on Christmas Day, when they have their biggest audiences (entire families sat around the box sleeping off the turkey and sherry). The most popular TV series always put out a special that runs either on or around Christmas Day. I remember Friends and the like doing Christmas shows - were these not shown on Christmas Day or thereabouts? Eastenders will typically get Christmas Day viewing figures of around 10-15 million - 25% of the population watching one show at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/14 "2010-08-19T18:26:11Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > > [@Duke](#): > > > > ETA: And, duh, I didn’t say the obvious: I guess the NBA figures nobody will be out shooting hoops in the snow on Christmas! > > What! So all those Hollywood movies have misled me! Or maybe that was Thanksgiving… but you watch football on TG, correct? Yes, that’s correct. Some locals growing up used to play pickup football on Christmas too, probably to get away from relatives who only visit once a year, and once a year too often. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/15 "2010-08-19T18:27:17Z")
At my house it’s either _A Christmas Story_, _A Christmas Carol_ (the 1951 version with Alastair Sim; the hub will accept no substitutes) or football. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/16 "2010-08-19T18:32:37Z")
If it’s on, one of the Home Alone movies. (Well, the first two. The rest sucked.) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/17 "2010-08-19T18:40:12Z")
4 or 5 NBA games ---
**Author:** ![ThirdOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@ThirdOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdOne)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/18 "2010-08-19T18:53:18Z")
Interesting! When I was growing up, there were religious movies and that was the thing to watch around the holidays. However, assuming my family got together with aunts, uncles & cousins, it was football and the children were sent to play outside. Westcoast, so no snow to contend with. It was frequently warm enough for shorts. Later years, as an adult, family get togethers usually took time opening gifts, eating and then just chatting. Now, it’s just me, my daughter & her hubby and we’ll put on A Christmas Story, sometimes, or just have music on the stereo. If there were hockey on, we’d be watching that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/19 "2010-08-19T19:03:58Z")
I’ve never seen A Christmas Story, so not that. My dad watches football. My mom fucking loves that stupid yule log. My family isn’t much for Christmas, though, in general. Both of my parents are atheists, and my dad’s a Jew to boot. When we were kids, we did the whole thing with the tree and presents, but now that my sister and I are adults, it’s not really a thing. I think my mom is kind of sad about it because she grew up Roman Catholic and has a lot of fond ideas about Christmas and family, even if she’s not religious anymore, but no one else can be bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760/20 "2010-08-19T19:16:23Z")
We never watched any particular thing. I was stunned(15 years ago) when my friend told me that his family goes to a movie on Christmas every year. It never occurred to me. I asked him if his family is the only one and he told me lots of people do that. He’s right. I hear it all the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-watch-on-christmas-day-in-the-us/550760.md?page=2)