Four young boys (voices: Trey Parker & Matt Stone ) build a snowman, but three of them ignore the fourth when he warns them not to put a magic hat on it. The snowman comes to life as a monster, growing tentacles that it uses to kill Kenny, the fattest boy. The remaining three run to Santa for help, but when that doesn’t work as they hoped, they realize that they need Jesus. 4 min.
A four minute proto-South Park short, The Spirit of Christmas is crude even by South Park standards, in both senses. The foul-mouthed boys swear constantly, but it is in the second sense (as in, inferiorly made) that this stands out. It looks like it was drawn in a few hours with a couple of colored pencils, and the muffled sound makes the dialog almost inaudible.
But many of the things that would make the series a hit are already in place. The four children are essentially Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny, though the only one given a name is the fat kid (Cartman), who is called Kenny and dies first. The kids are cynical and show little empathy for anyone else. And they expect that the real Santa and Jesus live in their town (and they aren’t completely wrong). It should be no surprise to fans of the show that the Spirit of Christmas turns out to be presents.
Several years later, Trey Parker and Matt Stone would remake Spirit of Christmas with many of the same jokes. Frosty would be gone, making it a fight between Santa and Jesus. This second version would lead to the TV series. It is also the superior take on the material, and makes this one just a curiosity.
The series has had multiple Christmas episodes including: Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo, Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!, Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics, A Very Crappy Christmas, and Woodland Critter Christmas.