Since the first “Star Wars” blasted a hole in popular culture we've been gifted a few unforgettable (and not in a good way) Christmas-adjacent stories. This refers to calendar placement, not theme. The only true “Star Wars Holiday Special," bequeathed to Generation X, centered its celebration on Life Day, a tradition of Chewie's home planet of Kashyyyk. Getting home to his family required special guest star appearances by Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur, Diahann Carroll and Jefferson Starship.
You may be picturing something enchantingly weird, like the "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special." Regrettably, no. The "Star Wars Holiday Special" was such a legendary misfire that it aired on CBS primetime only once. George Lucas wanted all memories of it erased from our cultural databases. For all of his innovation and forward thinking, in 1978 he did not conceive of such a thing as the internet. No one did. Anyway, almost 50 years later, the whole ugly 90-plus minutes live on YouTube.
