Our Favorite Fictional Holidays In Pop Culture

Ah, the made-up holiday, usually standing in for Christmas! They’ve become a trope and even a cliche of television shows and fantasy movies, and they’re a mark of your geekdom if you can remember them, not to mention if you actually celebrate them annually. Some people think this trope is tired; of 30 Rock‘s 2009 Christmas episode, the LA Times wrote, And here we have yet another Christmas television trope: the goofy, made-up holiday. See also: “Chrismukkah” or “Festivus.” It’s a favorite device of TV writers, but I’m not sure why.

However, we like them just fine. How else would you get nude hot tubbing, meat-lovers pizza, and the yarmuclaus*? The eight holidays we’ve compiled are a grab bag: Some are Christmas or Hanukah substitutes, while a few take place elsewhere in the year. But all of them are about joy — well, except for the one where you get to challenge someone to a wrestling match.

*check the gallery!