This time of year, we all have our holiday favorites when it comes to music, movies, tv shows, and books--the stories we return to again and again to remember what the holidays are supposed to be all about.
My personal favorite is a story that you might not be familiar with. In fact, I hope you aren’t, so that you can experience it for the first time this year. The reason it’s not as well known as many other holiday tales is that it comes from an unlikely source--The Twilight Zone. Thats right, the anthology series known for being creepy, twisted and in many cases outright scary gave us one of the greatest Christmas stories of all time.
The eleventh episode of the second season of The Twilight Zone is called “Night of the Meek.” In it, the legendary Art Carney plays Henry Corwin, a department store Santa with a drinking problem. When he gets fired from his job, he explains to his manager that the reason he drinks around the holidays is because he can’t bear to see all of the hopeless children and poor families go without each year, and he is saddened by what Christmas has become to most people. He just wishes that for one Christmas, he could be Santa Claus, and give the people in his neighborhood something to believe in. Through the magic of the Twilight Zone, Henry gets his wish, and he doesn’t waste the opportunity.
Art Carney is fantastic in this episode, and it’s truly a great reminder about the hope and joy the holidays can bring if we remember what they’re supposed to be about. It’s my favorite Christmas story ever, and I would encourage everyone to check it out. If you have Netflix, you can find it in the Holiday Favorites section right now. Or, you could just watch it in the players below--but I would hurry, before some Scrooge comes and takes it down.
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