Simpsons Christmas Stories/References
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Contents
Cultural references
Opening
- Homer thinks that Reverend Lovejoy might have joined the Episcopal Church. He highlights the Episcopalians' "bright, airy narthex", referring to their beautiful and well-designed spaces, and their "light, flaky Eucharist", referring to the formality and refinement often associated with the Episcopalian liturgy. An Episcopal Church and its coat of arms can be seen from the windows of the First Church of Springfield.
- Ned's ringtone is "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms.
- At the Reverend's room, the logo of Springfield Central is similar to that of Illinois Central Railroad.
- Homer tells the paper boy that he will not pay a tip until Hägar the Horrible returns. The comic strip was distributed to 1,900 newspapers in 56 countries and translated into 12 languages.
The First D'oh-El
- The name of the short is based on "The First Noel".
- The story is based in the New Testament's Joseph (Homer), who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus (Marge), and was the legal father of Jesus (Bart). Other biblical figures include:
- Mr. Burns as Herod the Great.
- Dr. Hibbert, Seymour Skinner and Professor Frink as the Three Wise Men, which bear gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to the birth of Jesus.
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Matthew the Apostole is seen writing "the gospel". The way he writes its title references the 1969 biblical drama The Gospel According to St. Matthew
- Bethlehem Inn is a reference to nowaday's Israel city Bethlehem, identified as the birthplace of Jesus.
- The Star of Bethlehem is seen.
- The popular Christmas carol "Silent Night" is heard during the nativity of Jesus scene.
- When Bart turns Homer's wine into water, he crosses his arms and blinks like Jeannie from the fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.
- Jesus turns Homer's wine into water; the exact opposite of part of a different section of the New Testament: the Wedding at Cana.
- Homer is watching the "Orange bowl", in a reference to the annual American college football bowl game, the Orange Bowl.
- Homer amuses Bart with The Three Stooges gags:
- Homer recreates Curly Howard's "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!".
- Skinner pokes in Homer's eyes, a technique mastered by The Three Stooges.
- Matthew the Apostole is seen writing "the gospel". The way he writes its title references the 1969 biblical drama The Gospel According to St. Matthew.
- Homer ends his Christmas sermon with a terrible imitation of Paul Harvey.
Wraparound
- The traditional Christmas carol "Deck the Halls" is heard at the Simpsons house.
- The Energizer Bunny is the protagonist of the Energizer Bunny Christmas Special.
I Saw Grampa Cussing Santa Claus
- The name of the short is a pun on the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".
- When being attacked by kamikazes, Cyrus boards a Vought F4U Corsair, while Abe and Mr. Burns fly in a Douglas SBD Dauntless. These were widely used United States Navy aircraft during the Pacific War in World War II.
- Cyrus's watch plays Glenn Miller's version of the song "American Patrol" by F. W. Meacham.
- Abe imagines Mr. Burns as Betty Grable making her iconic over-the-shoulder pose from 1943, which was a WWII bestseller.
- Abe mentions the Tennessee Valley Authority, a US corporation that played an important role during WWII.
- "Jingle Bells" by James Lord Pierpont plays in the background when Grampa and Mr. Burns are on the island.
- Donder and Blitzen, two of Santa Claus's reindeer, scape after the crash. Other missing raindeers include Prancer and Rudolph.
- Abe says that Santa "ain't no Kraut". The word Kraut was a German word used in English to refer to a German soldier during WWI and WWII.
- During the scene of Grampa fixing Santa's sleigh, Benny Goodman's instrumental version of "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" by Louis Prima plays.
- The aircraft nickname "Naughty or Nice" is a pun on the Christmas album Naughty or Nice by the girl group 3LW.
- Abe witnesses a Mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
- Abe does not mind missing the Tournament of Roses Parade when he goes to visit Cyrus to Tahiti.
- At the end, a tropical version of "Winter Wonderland" by Felix Bernard plays.
The Nutcracker...Sweeeeet
- The name of the short is a pun on The Nutcracker Suite, Tchaikovsky's selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet The Nutcracker.
- "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy", from Act II of the ballet, is performed by the kids at Springfield Elementary School.
- The people of Springfield sing "The Simpson's Public Domain Christmas Song", which is a parody of the "March of the Toy Soldier" from the ballet. During the song sequence:
- The store Inbred, Bath & Beyond is a parody of Bed Bath & Beyond retail chain.
- A parody of A Christmas Carol is seen when Mr. Burns, acting like Ebenezer Scrooge, vacuums the Ghost of Christmas Past.
- On his 1964 Christmas special, Krusty sings "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams.
- Astronaut John Glenn and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. appear on the special.
- The piece "Dance of the Reed Flutes" (aka "The Mirlitons") is heard when Moe attempts to commit suicide.
- Homer sings "I Need a Present for My Wife" to the tune of "Russian Dance". The instrumental version is heard again during the credits.
- Homer proposes a Ming dynasty vase for a present.
- The Grand pas de deux is heard when Homer gives Marge her present.
- Moe sleds by 742 Evergreen Terrace holding a banner saying "And to all a good night", a reference to the ending of the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" where Santa calls out "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night".
Trivia
- In Tahiti, there is a girl resembling Lisa Jr. from "Missionary: Impossible".
- This is the fourth episode of The Simpsons to date to air with a parental advisory warning before the episode in Australia for "adult themes". (Originally scheduled to air May 9, 2006 on Network Ten, but was pre-empted and replaced with "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation")
