Every Christmas, families around the world let their TVs run while they open gifts, eat dinner and celebrate together — and for many, the TV is playing A Christmas Story for the entire day. This year, TBS’s A Christmas Story marathon begins at 8pm EST on December 24, and runs until 8pm the following day. Which begs the question, why does A Christmas Story air for 24 hours on Christmas Day each year, and when did it start? The annual 24-hour A Christmas Story marathon on TBS and TNT feels so synonymous with the holiday that it’s easy to assume it’s always been part of Christmas — but actually, it didn’t start airing on TV until the ’90s.
