11 Fascinating Insights About the Leg Lamp in ‘A Christmas Story’

Initially released in 1983, A Christmas Story started as a sleeper hit with a niche yet devoted fanbase. Over the years, it has evolved into a holiday classic. Alongside the film’s rise to fame, its most iconic prop—the leg lamp, often referred to as “A Major Award”—has also become a cultural symbol.

1. The leg lamp in A Christmas Story drew inspiration from a vintage soft drink advertisement.

Before becoming a film, A Christmas Story originated as a collection of short stories by the late Jean Shepherd, featured in In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters. These fictionalized tales, based on Shepherd’s childhood in Depression-era Indiana (though primarily filmed in Cleveland, Ohio), include a 1966 story titled “My Old Man and the Lascivious Special Award that Heralded the Birth of Pop Art,” where the leg lamp and his father’s fascination with it are vividly described.

As noted by the A Christmas Story House and Museum (yes, a museum entirely devoted to the film—though it’s currently for sale as of December 2022), Shepherd conceived the leg lamp after spotting a glowing Nehi Soda ad featuring two disembodied legs up to the knee. Shepherd subtly referenced Nehi by mentioning that the Old Man’s crossword contest was backed by an “orange soda” brand with a name that “played on words, hinting at a lady’s knee.”

In Shepherd’s essay, when the lamp arrives, he describes it as, “From ankle to thigh, the glowing flesh emitted a vivid, sensual, radiant orange-yellow-pinkish aura of primal fire. It seemed to call for tom-toms, perhaps a gong, and a tenor singing in a high, trembling voice: ‘A pretty girl/Is like a melody …’”

2. The iconic A Christmas Story leg lamp was brought to life by production designer Reuben Freed.

Unsure of how the leg lamp should appear, A Christmas Story’s production designer Reuben Freed sketched a quick design and presented it to Shepherd, who instantly approved it. “I recalled something from my mother’s front room—a gold silk lampshade with pleats and fringe,” Freed explained to Cleveland magazine in 2009. “That image came to mind immediately, and I stuck with it—that classic, garish shape.”

3. The “original” A Christmas Story leg lamp has been lost to time.

For devoted fans of A Christmas Story, discovering an original leg lamp is the ultimate treasure, as Caseen Gaines noted in A Christmas Story: Behind the Scenes of a Holiday Classic. However, “the chances of finding one are as slim as stumbling upon Pee Wee Herman’s bicycle in the Alamo’s basement.” Freed crafted three leg lamps for the film, but all were destroyed during production, leaving none intact.

4. The typo on the A Christmas Story leg lamp’s delivery box has a straightforward explanation.

In the film, when the leg lamp arrives at Ralphie’s home, the crate bears the famous “FRAGILE” label along with “HIS END UP.” While the substitution of “his” for “this” might appear to be a clever joke, the crate was initially marked “THIS END UP.” The issue arose when the crate proved too wide to fit through the door. Jim Moralevitz, who played one of the delivery men, shared with Cleveland’s News-Herald, “I had the honor of delivering the major award 30 years ago. Sadly, the crate was too wide, so carpenters had to trim four inches off it.”

5. The A Christmas Story leg lamp holds a special place in Cleveland’s heart.

Since much of A Christmas Story was shot in Cleveland, the city has proudly claimed the film as its own (much to the potential chagrin of Shepherd’s home state, Indiana). In 2013, to mark the movie’s 30th anniversary, Cleveland’s Terminal Tower in Public Square was transformed into a massive leg lamp, complete with a red garter.

Terminal Tower, visible in the opening scenes of A Christmas Story without its leg-lamp decorations, stands tall over Higbee’s department store, where Ralphie first lays eyes on the coveted Red Ryder BB gun.

6. The A Christmas Story leg lamp is also a celebrated icon on Long Island.

In 2005, the Reichert family, who own Northport Hardware Store in Northport, Long Island, had a whimsical idea after attending the mayor’s Christmas tree lighting event. They picked one of the store’s many leg lamps, enlisted some patrons from the neighboring bar, and held a ceremonial lighting of the lamp in the store’s front window, followed by a round of cheers.

The Reicherts’ leg lamp lighting ceremony unexpectedly became a beloved tradition in Northport, continuing annually even after their store stopped hosting the event.

7. The A Christmas Story leg lamp is a Halloween favorite.

The leg lamp’s popularity has inspired ready-made Halloween costumes. In 2012, Josh Sundquist, a paralympian, motivational speaker, and author who lost his leg to cancer at age 9, stole the show with his homemade leg lamp costume, even shaving his leg for added realism.

8. The A Christmas Story leg lamp has also shined on stage.

In 2012, A Christmas Story: The Musical debuted on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, featuring a lively kick line where the chorus danced with fishnet-covered leg lamps alongside their own legs.

The previous year, the Troubadour Theater Company in Burbank, California, staged A Christmas Westside Story, a creative blend of A Christmas Story and the timeless saga of the Sharks and the Jets. The leg lamp’s standout moment? Singing “I Feel Pretty.”

9. The A Christmas Story leg lamp is in high demand.

A post-Christmas press release from 2012 revealed Amazon’s seasonal sales success, stating: “If all the Christmas Story Leg Lamps bought by Amazon customers this holiday were stacked, they’d reach the summit of Mt. Everest.”

10. The A Christmas Story leg lamp inspired a memorable and humorous catchphrase.

“Fra-gee-lay. It must be Italian!” has become a popular slogan, appearing on baby onesies, quirky T-shirts, and whimsical home decorations.

11. The leg lamp makes a brief cameo in the 2022 film A Christmas Story Christmas.

While the original leg lamp met its demise in the first movie, the latest installment, A Christmas Story Christmas, which follows Ralphie’s efforts to create holiday magic after his father’s passing, honors the iconic award. The leg lamp is referenced and appears in nostalgic flashbacks throughout the film.