Part of the Christmas pageant is similar to an event Groening had in second grade. He had to talk about Christmas in Russia. He also talks about it in his comic strip "Life in Hell". In the comic, a boy's grandmother is in Russia. He learns that his grandmother can not celebrate Christmas because it is illegal in Russia. Groening said that people thought the episode made another form of the song "Jingle Bells". While Lisa is on the Christmas pageant, she is seen to be not wearing anything lower than the waist. David Silverman said that she is wearing clothing, but the animators made it the same color as Lisa (yellow).