As the season gets colder, and the days longer, soap fans long for a holiday filled with nostalgia, family, and drama from their favorite daytime shows. Soap Hub takes a look at a few standout episodes of The Young and the Restless from Christmases past.
Classic Christmas Episodes For The Young and the Restless
A Shining Moment
The Young and the Restless pulled heartstrings when the Abbott family gathered for the holiday in 2019. Dina Mergeron (Marla Adams) was struggling with Alzheimer’s, a disease that many viewers were familiar with within their own families. Traci (Beth Maitland) began a beautiful rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” pulling Dina out of her fog. The matriarch, in a flicker of full recall, stood up and joined her daughter singing loudly, causing Ashley (Eileen Davidson), Jack (Peter Bergman), and Abby (Melissa Ordway) to join in. Fans around the world responded with positive reviews.
Michael’s Wonderful Life
The end of 2008 found a despondent Michael Baldwin (Christian Le Blanc) wishing he had never been born. In an “It’s a Wonderful Life” themed Christmas episode, Michael experienced a bleak vision of what life in Genoa City would have been for his loved ones and friends without him. His ‘guardian angel’ Paul revealed that Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) ended up in jail for the murder of Ji Min Kim (Eric Steinberg)…because Michael wasn’t there to defend. Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) grieved the loss of Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian), who was stabbed…and Michael wasn’t there to donate a kidney. A suicidal Kevin (Greg Rikaart) was in an asylum because he was without a brother’s guidance and support. Gloria (Judith Chapman) was doing time as a maid at Jabot after the face cream fiasco. A very dour Lauren (Tracey Bregman) is a workaholic with no social life. Paul (Doug Davidson) and Christine (Lauralee Bell) were killed by Isabella (Eva Longoria) because Michael wasn’t alive to save them. The ever-resourceful attorney came out of it with a new outlook on life!
Remembering What Is Important
Just three years later, The Young and the Restless inked a similar Christmas storyline featuring Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott). A drunk and out-of-control Nikki crashed her car in the snow on the way to Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Billy Abbott’s (then portrayed by Billy Miller) wedding. A guardian angel appeared and showed the troubled lady just how much her family loved and needed her with the memorable words, “You called yourself ‘nothing,’ but you’re everything, everything to the people who love you.”
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Lighting Up The Menorah
A story arc in 2006, found Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) not being who he claimed to be after 20 years in Genoa City. The retconned storyline was that Brad was actually George Kaplan. Brad Carlton was actually the name he had taken from a friend who had died (sound familiar Ashland fans?) in order for Kaplan to hide from the people responsible for the death of his family. He was reunited with his mother Rebecca (Lorna Raver), a concentration camp survivor. The 2006 holiday season on The Young and the Restless celebrated Hanukkah with Brad, Rebecca, Ashley, and Abby (then Darcy Rose Byrnes).
Danny’s Christmas Miracle
Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) experienced a very rocky year in 1984. He was dating Patty Williams (Andrea Evans) but married his friend Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland) when she found herself pregnant by her college professor. The marriage was quickly annulled when she miscarried (from a fall down the stairs caused by Patty). Danny divided his time touring and returning to Genoa City. Shawn Garrett was very jealous of the beloved rock n’ roller and his relationship with Lauren (Tracey Bregman). Garrett poisoned him, causing him to lose his voice. In a miraculous Christmas Eve episode, Danny found his voice again and was able to sing during the service.
The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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