5 Interesting Events that Happened on Christmas Day (in the 80s and 90s)

I hinted in my last article about 1980s Thanksgivings that I do not particularly care for Christmas. As a child of the 1980s, I grew up in arguably the most consumeristic decade in America with Christmas being the most consumeristic day. I witnessed single mothers work extra jobs and take out loans to buy their children junk they’d forget about in weeks at most, all for a one-day endorphin rush. The Yuletide celebration of the Winter Solstice is materialistic and avaricious.

For those of you who love Christmas, you’ve probably already stopped reading. For everyone else who is even mildly intrigued by my disdain, I’d like to remind the world that other things happen on Christmas. Here are five interesting events that happened on Christmas Day in the 80s and 90s that have nothing to do with the holiday.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme recaptured, 1987

The Federal Correctional Institution for Women in Alderson, West Virginia received a nice Christmas gift in 1987 when they recaptured Lynette Fromme, who had scaled a fence and escaped from the prison two days prior. She was found two miles away in the woods by prison employees, soaked from the heavy rains. It’s ironic that she was found so close to the prison following a national alert that prompted tips of seeing redheads in multiple states.

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was serving a life sentence at the prison for attempted assassination after pointing a gun at President Gerald Ford in 1975 in Sacramento. Her plan was to bring attention to the destruction of California redwoods.

Fromme was a prolific member of the Manson Family and a fervorous follower of Charles Manson. When Manson and a core group of his followers went to prison for murder, she acted as the “spokeswoman” of the group, receiving instruction from Manson via correspondence. This included dressing in red robes and taking a vow of celibacy as a kind of nun and working to protect the environment.

Well, although she did bring a little attention to the California redwoods with her stunt, her history with the Mansion Family overshadowed any environmental statement she tried to make. The gun was later found to be not loaded but she was still sentenced to a life sentence in prison. It seems authorities do not take well to people pointing any kind of weapon at the president, loaded or not.

Lynette was released from prison on parole in 2009 and moved to rural New York with a boyfriend, another criminal she’d correspond with while they were both in prison. Although their property is decorated with skulls, its reported that she’s a “friendly neighbor” by Fox News and the National Enquirer, so take that for what you will.

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu executed, 1989

It was not a very merry Christmas for Nicolae Ceaușescu. About a week earlier on December 17, Ceaușescu had ordered troops to open fire on protesters in the city of Timișoara which fueled even more demonstrations in the capital of Bucharest. On December 22, the military backed the demonstrators. Although making an attempt to flee in a helicopter, the Romanian army captured Ceaușescu and his wife Elena. Days later on Christmas, 1989, after a very speedy trial, Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu were put before a firing squad and executed.

Romanians’ disdain for Nicolae Ceaușescu was warranted. Although resistant to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, Ceaușescu was a brutal Communist dictator whose secret police were highly effective at violently suppressing free speech and dissent. After gaining the leadership of Romania upon the death of his mentor, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, in 1965, Ceaușescu went on multiple campaigns of awfulness in the decades following along with his wife Elena and other family members he appointed to positions of power.

In an effort to boost Romania’s stagnant population, Ceaușescu declared illegal all forms of contraception and abortion in 1966. “Decree 770”, as it was called, also commanded doctors to monitor women and report any signs of diminishing their fertility in any way. The result was a massive increase in women dying from unsafe, underground pregnancy terminations.

After many failed national ventures in the 1970s, Ceaușescu ordered mass exporting in 1982 to pay off the national debt. With almost all agricultural and industrial products leaving the country, there was little left for the Romanian people and their quality of life plummeted.

Stripped of their rights and impoverished, the Romanians began to rise up and Ceaușescu met his maker at the wrong end of a bullet. Nicolae Ceaușescu should be a good example of what can happen to current and would-be dictators.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in East Berlin, 1989

Are we having a joyous 80s and 90s Christmas or what?! Okay, here’s an event that is a bit more uplifting. On Christmas Day, 1989, renowned American conductor and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein conducted a concert at the Schauspielhaus in East Berlin as a celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thousands watched outside the music hall on projectors in freezing rain, and it was also broadcast live to over 100 million viewers worldwide. The concert included the now-famous rendition of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony… with a twist.

In the final movement, Bernstein changed the lyric," Ode to Joy (Freude)" to “Ode to Freedom (Freiheit)”.

It’s a pretty ballsy move to change a line in Beethoven’s music, especially with one of his most famous pieces, but in this case it worked. After almost three decades, Germans from both sides of the wall had the freedom to meet and spend the Christmas of 1989 together.

Bernstein added in his introduction, "I'm sure that Beethoven would have given us his blessing."

I’m sure he was right.

While The Scorpions’ “Winds of Change” became the modern rock anthem for the fall of the Berlin Wall, no one rocked harder than Leonard and his “Ode to Freedom” in East Berlin on Christmas, 1989. I dare you to fight back tears of joy listening to it.

Leonard Bernstein died less than a year later in October 1990 just days after announcing his retirement, achieving his most powerful magnum opus before leaving a world he helped make better.

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of USSR, 1991

With his head spot and Pizza Hut commercials, Mikhail Gorbachev has become somewhat of a cultural icon from the 80s and 90s. Seen as an architect of a “new Russia” overseeing what was left of the USSR’s transition to democracy and a capitalist economy, his policies and reforms seemingly ended the Cold War and arms race that had defined the world for almost a half-century.

However, with an unstable economy and political turmoil, Gorbachev lost much of his presidential power and a coup ensued in August 1991. He was saved by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin. However, Yeltsin then criticized how slow reforms were taking place. Having lost political power, Gorbachev announced his resignation as the president of the USSR on Christmas Day, 1991. In his resignation speech, Gorbachev defended his policies and worked toward prosperity and peaceful coexistence with the West.

As Russian flags replaced Soviet banners in the Kremlin, The Soviet Union officially dissolved the next day on December 26, 1991.

Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30, 2022. According to a Reuters report, his interpreter stated Gorbachev was “shocked and bewildered by the Ukraine conflict” in the months leading to his death.

Well, here’s hoping we get some kind of resignation from Bad Vlad soon.

US box office passes $6 billion for the first time, 1997

1997 was a good year for cinema. Driven by the love affair of Jack and Rose in James Cameron’s epic, Titanic, box office ticket revenue in the United States hit $6 billion for the first time ever. In fact, Titanic would become the first film ever to surpass $1 billion the following year. Other action blockbusters driving this record included The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Men in Black, Tomorrow Never Dies, Air Force One, and The Fifth Element. Comedies showed up well with As Good as It Gets, Liar Liar, My Best Freind’s Wedding, and The Full Montey. 1997 also had some underrated gems such as Gattaca, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential, and Event Horizon. While Paramount/Fox had the highest-grossing film of 1997 with Titanic, Sony Pictures and partners had 5 of the top 10 highest that year making Sony the most lucrative studio gaining over $1.3 billion in revenue.

Incidentally, to celebrate its 20th Anniversary, the Star Wars trilogy was re-released in theatres in 1997, building up momentum and excitement to what would become the soul-crushing disappointment that is The Phantom Menace two years later.

While Titanic was breaking records in North America, The Fifth Element became France’s highest grossing movie of all time. This is no doubt because it came from the mind of French director Luc Besson, inspired by French science fiction comics.

This is all not to say that 1997 did not have its share of bombs and duds including Spawn, Steel and the infamously bad Batman and Robin. It’s amazing that superhero films would thrive later despite 1997’s attempt to kill them.

For those of you who do enjoy the holiday season, I envy you and wish you the best. For the Grinches out there like me, I challenge you to keep track of news this Christmas. Remember, other events, sometimes really big ones, also happen on December 25th. If you do grow tiresome of all the holiday cheer around, you can also lock yourself in a room with a hot beverage and listen to our podcast or watch our movie reviews. With that, I leave you with this quote from me:

“Think back to all of your childhood Christmases and you probably don’t remember 99% of the crap you got.”

— Jamie Fenderson