Star Wars is perfect for all holidays

I didn't get into Star Wars growing up. My mom was a science fiction fan who showed me the movies. However, she was always more of a Trekkie, so mostly we'd occasionally see the Star Wars film in theaters, and that was it. My dad always hated anything sci-fi or fantasy. He showed his love by enduring my excited ramblings about Lord of the Rings with the patience of a saint. Star Wars was around me but never a constant in my life until I fell in love with The Clone Wars movie in college, with the animated series making me a fan for the first time.

So when I read an article from The Washington Post about the licensing history of Star Wars on cable TV, especially during the holidays, it truly struck me. Why wouldn't fans stream Star Wars in December? This tradition made sense when I considered it. Just because I didn't have Star Wars at Christmas, that didn't mean that other fans didn't.

Star Wars, at its core, is about family. While it's usually about found family, that doesn't mean there is any less love. Found family can be more important than blood relatives in many cases, especially if someone doesn't get along with their relatives. Friends Christmas might be someone's only Christmas. It doesn't make it less important.

The franchise has also come to embrace the holidays. From The Mandalorian's Grogu at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special doing its own twist on Life Day, Star Wars has infiltrated the holidays. If you've been following the coverage, one of our writers has detailed every day of the LEGO Advent Calendar (which all have been great. Go check them out). Heck, I have a soft spot for the original Star Wars Holiday Special, warts and all. It's a film franchise that's perfect for all occasions, but perhaps that's my biased as a fan.

So whether you have the movies on in the background while roasting burgers on the Fourth of July or you stick on the Darth Vader Yule Log to confuse your unsuspecting family members, Star Wars is the perfect tradition year-round.