December 20 is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day!  I mean, I don't have one, and I'm not going to buy one, and if one were given to me, I wouldn't wear it… but I'm down with the holiday nonetheless.  By the way, there is no National Look Stupid Day, so this is as close as you're going to get.  Ugly Christmas Sweaters, or UCS’s, first appeared in the 1950s, though I’m not sure they were considered ugly back then.  They were called “Jingle Bell Sweaters,” which were mass produced with various Christmas decorations on them.  Christmas sweaters continued through the ‘70s and ‘80s, often more psychedelic than not.  Apparently being on drugs made them more palatable.  It wasn’t until the 1980s that UCS’s were truly recognized for what they were – ugly.  TV stars like Chevy Chase and Bill Cosby wore them to get a laugh, and they briefly caught on.  Then in 2001 they became truly popular, all because of the movie Bridget Jones Diary, where a character wore one, and, of course, everyone else suddenly wanted one, too.  The first UCS party was held in 2002 in Vancouver, BC, and since then Ugly Christmas Sweaters can be seen everywhere, even on fashion show runways.  “Carla looks stunning in her Rudolf-themed Christmas sweater that features a flashing red nose.”  So today, if you don’t have one already, go out and get that Ugly Christmas Sweater, and wear it with pride.  And who knows?  You may even win a prize for the most garish sweater of them all.

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