With the holiday season in full swing, it's easy to fall into the trap of watching Elf five times a day [1] (and yes, I am speaking from personal binge experience). But it's important for all kids to learn about how other cultures celebrate the holidays, and there's no better time than this present holiday season. From "A Rugrats Chanukah," to "Everybody Hates Kwanzaa" from Everybody Hates Chris, these holiday TV episodes are the perfect way to teach your child about other holidays.
Keep scrolling to read about and watch these culturally educational episodes and TV movies.
Rugrats - "A Rugrats Chanukah"
Tommy and the babies learn the story of Hanukkah by getting into the history of the holiday for themselves. While in temple, Grandma Minka decides to read the babies the story of Hanukkah to teach them about the meaning of the holiday, and they imagine themselves as the characters off to defeat the "Meanie of Hanukkah."
The Proud Family - "Seven Days of Kwanzaa"
During this Christmas episode, the Proud Family meets a homeless family during their holiday shopping, and Penny kindly invites them to their Christmas Eve dinner. They are surprised when the family returns to their house for the next seven days, but the Proud family later discovers this is because they celebrate Kwanzaa. The Proud Family learns about the other family's heritage, the meaning of Kwanzaa, and the importance of spending the holidays with your loved ones.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
In the infamous Christmas fan-favorite, Charlie Brown finds himself incredibly upset and depressed, regardless of being surrounded by joyful holiday festivities. Charlie takes Lucy's advice and directs the school Christmas play to get into the spirit, but when everyone makes fun of the small tree in the play, Charlie's mood takes a negative turn. The entire school eventually realizes that the small tree symbolizes the true meaning of Christmas, with the help of a powerful speech from Linus.
Friends - "The One With the Holiday Armadillo"
Ross wants to teach his son Ben about his Jewish heritage and the meaning of Hanukkah, because up to this point, he only knew about Christmas from his mother. Ben is very set on Christmas and doesn't want to hear anything about Hanukkah, but Ross still tries. Eventually, Ross decides he needs to show Ben some love from Santa Claus, but it's very last minute and he can't find a red suit to rent, which leads him to create the Holiday Armadillo, Santa's friend from Texas. As the armadillo, Ross proudly teaches Ben about the Festival of Lights.
Even Stevens - "Heck of a Hanukkah"
It's Hanukkah in the Stevens home and Louis can't handle the anxiety of waiting for his presents, so he decides to crawl through his sister's closet to find the gifts. After Louis secretly opens all of the presents and tries to rehide them, his cover is blown, as they fall out of his bedroom window and shatter to pieces. After a big family fight and a lot of frustration, Louis soon wakes up to realize it was all a dream, and after a big sigh of relief, he join his family in their Hanukkah celebrations with a new outlook.