How The Sound of Music Became a Christmas Movie Staple

TV Insider writes:

Remember the scene above? That heartwarming moment in The Sound of Music when the von Trapp family — led by enchanting newlyweds Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) and Maria (Julie Andrews) — exchange Christmas gifts after fleeing the Nazis? No? Because it never happened! That photo, according to cast member Angela Cartwright (aka 10-year-old bookworm Brigitta), was staged for a Rodgers & Hammerstein/20th Century Fox Christmas card.

Fact is, the holiday is never mentioned in the 1965 Best Picture winner. Yet ABC has aired the beloved musical every December since 2002, making it a TV event as eagerly anticipated as NBC’s annual broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life (dating back to 1994) and TNT/TBS’s 24-hour A Christmas Story marathon (which began in 1997). The question is: Why?

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