Move over twinkling fir trees and wreaths, eggnog, stockings and the office secret Santa 바카라 게임 웹사이트� there바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a new kid in town. Over the last decade, the ugly Christmas sweater has firmly embedded itself in Yuletide culture.Related video above: Ugly Sweaters To Last A LifetimeYou know the one. It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a wooly pullover, usually in different shades of red, white and green, often of questionable fabric, and with at least one Christmas-inspired motif on it 바카라 게임 웹사이트� a snowman, tinsel, a reindeer or candy canes. Extra points if it features 3D pom-pom or jingle bells.The garment has quickly become an essential part of the holidays, ubiquitous as Christmas lights and wrapping paper. It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s obnoxious and tacky, but also fuzzy and kind of wholesome 바카라 게임 웹사이트� the fashion equivalent of a Hallmark Christmas movie (with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek).It took some time for the UCS to find its place in the pantheon of Christmas fundamentals, however.Christmas-themed pullovers started making an appearance in the 1950s, a nod perhaps to the holiday바카라 게임 웹사이트�s growing commercialization. Initially referred to as 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Jingle Bell Sweaters,바카라 게임 웹사이트� they weren바카라 게임 웹사이트�t as garish as today바카라 게임 웹사이트�s iterations and found little popularity in the market, although some TV personalities 바카라 게임 웹사이트� notably crooners Val Doonican and Andy Williams 바카라 게임 웹사이트� really embraced the ugly side of the festive topper.It wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t until the 1980s that the item hit the mainstream. The shift came thanks to pop culture and comedies, with goofball dad characters like Chevy Chase바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Clark Griswold in 바카라 게임 웹사이트�National Lampoon바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Christmas Vacation바카라 게임 웹사이트� turning the holiday sweater into an uncomely but endearing expression of cheer. Snowflake-emblazoned sweaters weren바카라 게임 웹사이트�t considered cool, but they radiated yule and were sported at office parties and on Christmas Day.The resurgence didn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t last long. In the 1990s, the Christmas sweater faded in popularity; it was something only your unfashionable older relatives would ever think of wearing or gifting. By the turn of the new millennium, the item was widely considered an eyebrow-raising sartorial mishap.Think of 2001바카라 게임 웹사이트�s 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Bridget Jones바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Diary,바카라 게임 웹사이트� in which Colin Firth바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Mark Darcy turns to greet Bridget (Renée Zellweger) at a family party wearing an unattractive knitted garment featuring a giant red-nosed reindeer. Bridget is horrified. So were you, probably, if you watched it in the cinema. But you probably also smiled. Such is the heartwarming power of the UCS.The early 2000s also saw new life breathed into this now holiday staple. According to the 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Christmas sweater parties started kicking off just around the time Bridget was recoiling at Darcy바카라 게임 웹사이트�s outfit.The first so-themed get-together took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2002, said Brian Miller, one of the book바카라 게임 웹사이트�s authors and founder of online shop UglyChristmasSweaterParty.com, in a phone interview.바카라 게임 웹사이트�It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s hard to say what triggered the change in perspective, but I think that the moment someone wore the garment in a humorous way, people started seeing the comic side of it, and thinking, 바카라 게임 웹사이트�This thing at the back of the closet could be fun, instead of something awful that nobody wants,'바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said.The popularity of the ugly sweater snowballed from there.Over the following decade, the festive knit evolved into 바카라 게임 웹사이트�a new holiday tradition,바카라 게임 웹사이트� as Miller described it. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It became our generation바카라 게임 웹사이트�s mistletoe,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he added. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Which is pretty remarkable, when you think about it.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Fast-fashion giants like Topshop and high-end retailers like Nordstrom began filling their shelves and sites with gaudy designs each holiday season. Vintage stores and the Salvation Army capitalized on the trend by upping their stocks of fuzzy snowmen and dancing Santa pullovers. Even the fashion pack came around. In 2007, Stella McCartney released a polar bear-themed alpine sweater. Givenchy followed in 2010, and Dolce & Gabbana the following year.2012 was a turning point for the ugly sweater craze. UK charity Save the Children launched Christmas Jumper Day, a fundraising event encouraging people to don their most cringeworthy sweaters. British newspaper The Telegraph described the item as 바카라 게임 웹사이트�this season바카라 게임 웹사이트�s must-have,바카라 게임 웹사이트� while the New York Times reported on ugly Christmas sweater-themed runs, pub crawls, and specialized e-tailers booming across the States. Concurrently, the knits began showing more tinsel, bells and wacky details, reaching peak kitsch.Celebrities, from Taylor Swift to Kanye West, embraced the trend, too. Late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon even started running a regular segment called 바카라 게임 웹사이트�12 Days of Christmas Sweaters,바카라 게임 웹사이트� which still airs today.If anything, the rise of social media has only heightened the 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It바카라 게임 웹사이트� status of the ugly sweater. Today, we compete to show off our Christmas sweater love on Instagram, while anyone from mass retailer Target to fast food chain Red Lobster (whose UCS features a pocket to keep food warm), and more fashion houses offer their own versions of the garment.바카라 게임 웹사이트�When I attended my first Ugly Sweater Party in the early 2000s, I would have never anticipated the garment would take off like this,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Miller said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Although it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s easy to see why: ugly knits can be worn by anyone 바카라 게임 웹사이트� from my daughter at her school바카라 게임 웹사이트�s ugly sweater contest to office workers at their end-of-year party. They바카라 게임 웹사이트�re democratic. And they바카라 게임 웹사이트�re a lot of fun. Christmas can be quite stressful 바카라 게임 웹사이트� wearing something ridiculous can help take the pressure off.바카라 게임 웹사이트�This article was first published in December 2019.