Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina

‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ received a warm reaction when it premiered on Netflix a few weeks ago.  The second season is already in production, but most likely won’t arrive until next fall, but the series has a small gift for fans that may help tide them over and warm their winter holidays.  Creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa surprised fans on Twitter with an animated “Christmas card” announcing that a ‘Sabrina’ Christmas special would arrive on December 14.

The special will be officially entitled ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale’.  Here is its description:

The Church of Night, like all covens, celebrates the Winter Solstice — the longest night of the year — when families gather together around the Yule Fire to sing pagan carols, tell ghost stories and huddle against the supernatural creatures that come out to cause mischief. Since the Winter Solstice is when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest, it’s the perfect time to conduct a séance — which Sabrina convenes, to try and contact her mother. But the holidays are also a time for guests and visitors — both welcome and unwelcome — and you never know what might come down the chimney.

It might seem strange that a show in which the majority of the characters, good and evil, worship Satan is offering a Christmas special, but actually a large number of things that westerners associate with the holiday are Pagan in origin.  These include fruitcake, caroling, burning the yule log, and decorating with candles, hanging ornaments, wreaths, as well as holly, ivy and mistletoe (including getting a kiss under the latter).  This also led to the use of red and green being assigned as signature colors for the holiday.  But perhaps the biggest Pagan ritual adapted by Christians was the giving of gifts and having them delivered by mystical beings.  Santa Claus is partially inspired by Odin, the king of the Norse gods.  Other Pagan civilizations used various generous deities to deliver cheer.

Bits of ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale’ can be glimpsed in the following Netflix promo that highlights their holiday offerings, some original, some classic.  It looks as though Netflix is going to give Lifetime a run for its money this year when it comes to seasonal entertainment.  As Aunt Hilda declares, “We’re going to hunker down and watch our favorite Christmas movies.”

 

Not shown is the yule log burning video, but trust me, it’s available.  (Also, Kurt Russell in ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ just inspired a new term, #SILF.)

‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ is in the middle of a very Grinch-y lawsuit from the founders of the Satanic Temple over the use of a statue of the Pagan deity Baphomet as a background piece on the series.  Maybe this special is just what was needed to restore some holiday cheer.

Are you excited to get a bonus dose of ‘Sabrina’?  Are there any other holiday classics you expect to stream?

Source: TV Line