From there, the holidays only got bigger and weirder. One park became two. Christmas became Grinchmas. December wasn’t big enough anymore. A temporary Mount Crumpit was built behind Seuss Landing with a genuine ice slide down the side. Santa briefly took to the sea in a procession of watercraft. In 2017, the Wizarding Worlds got in on the fun with elaborate projection-mapping shows and exclusive beverages all Universal Orlando guests are obligated to buy once.

This year, against all short-term odds, the holidays are bigger than ever. There’s no parade, but the Macy’s balloons are still on artful display. Following in the footsteps of Halloween and Mardi Gras, there’s now a dedicated Tribute Store. One of the lushly designed rooms has its own mascot, Earl the Squirrel, inspired by long-standing Universal lore. The holidays have come so far at the parks that they have their own mythology.

The most surprising detail in the Tribute Store, though, is easy to miss.

In a hallway connecting one merchandise room to the next, press photos and promotional pieces of Universal Christmas past cover the walls like wrapping paper. A lot of it should look familiar to even the most casual guests - a humanoid Grinch startling children, the aforementioned balloons - but closer inspection reveals some deeper cuts.

Bullwinkle marches in his best Nutcracker garb. Fievel and the rest of the Mousekwitz clan gathers around a menorah. Charlie Chaplin sneaks a present to Marilyn Monroe. E.T. Claus plays to a crowd of wide-eyed kids.

It’s all that’s left of the early days, hiding in plain sight. Before there was Macy’s, there was a stocking cap on the King Kong photo-op. Before there was the Grinch, there was Frankenstein’s monster all dressed in red, lumbering after anyone foolish enough to fall for his disguise.

At the risk of blasphemy and copyright infringement, that is the true meaning of Christmas.

Universal was, is, and forever shall be a little looser than Disney. Besides Halloween, no holiday is a separately ticketed event. Characters meet and greet on their own time. For just $15, guests can consume as much Icee as the human brain allows and then some. All traditions are spelled with a small T - fewer families make an annual pilgrimage to take their Christmas card in front of Shrek 4-D as opposed to Cinderella Castle.

But this year of all years, that’s worth holding onto.

With so many capital-T Traditions out of the question, it’s easy to forget the holidays are happening at all. Any little bit of cheer counts, now more than ever. Watch unseasonably gory movies. Blast “Dominick the Donkey” until the neighbors consider it an act of war. Bake too much fruitcake and feed it to the neighborhood wildlife. Whatever gets you in the spirit, even if it’s dressing up your little wax Frankenstein like Santa Claus.

Christmas is universal. No need to make a big deal out of it. Celebrate it responsibly, any which way you can.