TheStar Trekfranchise’s impressive lifespan perhaps makes it surprising that the space opera has never engaged with one of the biggest TV tropes, but there’s actually a very good reason whyGene Roddenberry’s long-running sci-fi saga has never produced a Christmas special. Although the Christian festival has been mentioned in passing and referenced a few times in the movies and TV shows that combined to form theStar Trektimeline, it is never really addressed head-on or with any real commitment.
While this could easily be viewed as a missed opportunity, it wouldn’t really make sense to write aStar TrekChristmas episode from a canonical perspective. Instead, theStar TrekTV showsgenerally tend to sidestep Christmas while supplying the audience with cryptic explanations as to why. Similarly, theStar Trekmovies, as a rule, are pretty bereft of festive cheer. That being said, the feature-length productions not including Christmas makes far more sense, but given thatmanyStar Trekshows have adhered to the traditional network TV schedule, it’s a little more unusual.
Humanity Being Largely Secular In Star Trek Means Christmas Is No Longer Celebrated
Christmas has been left behind in the world of Star Trek
Because Christmas has religious roots, it would be fairly illogical for humanity to celebrate it given where human society is up to by the time ofStar Trek. Because of huge technological advancements such as warp travel, transporters, and replicators,Earth’s inhabitants have slowly come together to become one big society. The massive leap forward has essentially left many religions, such as Christianity, in the dust. Paired with the utopian future in whichStar Trekis set where concepts such as money have been abandoned, a holiday like Christmas becomes pretty much inert.
It’s understandable why those on Earth inStar Treklosing their reverent spirituality in the face of scientific advancement would cause Christmas to be sidelined.
Star Trek: Enterpriseis set the furthest in the past of all the shows, so if any of the spinoffs were to boast a festive installment, it would beEnterprise. However, the show proves that even by the 22nd century,Christmas isn’t acknowledged anymore. The holiday has been relegated to nothing more than a footnote in humanity’s history. Of course, in the real world, Christmas isn’t always celebrated with religious motivations, but it’s understandable why those on Earth inStar Treklosing their reverent spirituality in the face of scientific advancement would cause Christmas to be sidelined.
Every Upcoming Star Trek Movie & TV Show
Star Trek is ending series like Discovery and Lower Decks but renewed Strange New Worlds while setting up new streaming and theatrical movies.
Star Trekwriters still can’t resist sneaking in winks to Christmasthroughout the franchise, even if the characters themselves don’t celebrate it themselves. For example, John DeLancie’s Q briefly transforms the USS Voyager into a Christmas tree decoration inStar Trek: Voyagerseason 2, episode 18, “Death Wish.” Outside the shows, Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard experiences a Christmas fantasy sequence in 1994’sStar Trek: Generations. Interestingly, both of these examples were released in February, and the themes of their larger stories had nothing to do with Christmas.
Star Trek’s Alien Races Still Have Religions Celebrations
Humanity appears to be in the minority among Star Trek’s various races
One of the biggest separators between humans and the aliens inStar Trekis that those from beyond Earth didn’t shed their religious traditions when they took to the stars. Races like the Bajorans, Klingons, and the Ferengi all have surprisingly complex belief systems that revolve around deities, afterlives, and other religious traditions. In fact,the Klingon afterlife, Sto’vo’qor, is softly canonized inStar Trek: Voyagerseason 6, episode 3, “Barge of the Dead.”
Some humanStar Trekcharacters, like Robert Beltran’s Chakotay, prove that not all of humanity has abandoned spirituality.
Some of the alien religious celebrations do have some similarities with Christmas, so it could be argued that this is a way of incorporating the holiday intoStar Trekwhile still having it fit in with the franchise’s canon. That being said, some humanStar Trekcharacters, like Robert Beltran’s Chakotay, prove that not all of humanity has abandoned spirituality. However, many of the religious belief systems inStar Trek, human or alien, are often supplied with a sci-fi explanation that can often justify them as real. This isn’t always the case, though.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Has The Closest Thing To A Franchise Christmas Special
“Tapestry” is a powerful homage to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
Star Trek: The Next Generationseason 6, episode 15, “Tapestry,” comes suspiciously close to ticking all the boxes of what a story needs to be considered a festive special. The story is essentially a beat-for-beat adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1984 iconic book,A Christmas Carol.“Tapestry” swaps out most of the elements that make it an ode to Christmastime for sci-fi tropes, and it also aired in February - which makes it even more difficult to label it as a true Christmas special.
Captain Picard fills the Scrooge-like role in “Tapestry,” which first aired in 1993. Interestingly, Patrick Stewart went on to play Ebeneezer Scrooge in 1999’sA Christmas Carolmovie.
“Tapestry” was just one of manyepisodes ofStar Trek: The Next Generationthat had its script written by Ronald D. Moore. The writer went on to pen scripts for other huge sci-fi franchises, as well as creating Apple TV+‘sFor All Mankind.Moore also wroteStar Trek Generations, which is pretty fitting given that the 1994 movie and “Tapestry” both include two of the strongest Christmas references in all ofStar Trek.
How Star Trek Could Pull Off A Convincing Christmas Special
Star Trek’s primary genre gives the saga several opportunities to celebrate Christmas
Just becauseStar Trekhas never done an actual Christmas episode doesn’t mean it can’t ever happen. Humanity’s secularity from the 22nd century and beyond doesn’t make the celebration of Christmas impossible.Star Trekshows all feature several sci-fi tropes and hallmarks that could accommodate a story set during Christmastime. The most obvious solution would be to write a time-travel story, which would take Starfleet officers into Earth’s past and enable them to experience the holiday firsthand.Star Trekadventures in the 20th and 21st centuries have happened several times, so this could easily be achieved.
15 Best Star Trek Episodes & Movies To Watch During The Holidays
Christmas isn’t widely celebrated in the Star Trek universe, but the franchise has a whole host of movies and TV episodes perfect for the holidays.
Another option could be a non-human crew member exploring the accident traditions of Earth and insisting their crew mates celebrate Christmas just for the experience of it all.Star Trekcharacters have already shown interest in the history of other races, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that human Starfleet officers could be gently coerced into throwing a Christmas party to go through all the same traditions as their ancestors from before humanity joined the interplanetary community.
Presumably, too much time has passed now to start making Christmas specials, or even just one of them, but the possibility does remain.
Arguably, althoughmaking aStar TrekChristmas special would be a relatively easy thing to dofrom a storytelling perspective, the franchise clearly hasn’t needed to embark on such an endeavor, and its long and impressive history stands as a testament to that fact. Presumably, too much time has passed now to start making Christmas specials, or even just one of them, but the possibility does remain. If theStar Trekwriters ever decide to make it happen, it’s certain to be a landmark event for the saga.
Star Trek
Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.
