Red Sleigh Down/Trivia

Trivia

 * Jesus and Santa work together in this episode even though they are shown to have a rivalry in "Jesus vs. Santa".
 * This episode also marks the permanent return of Kenny.
 * Following this episode, Mr. Hankey was absent for nearly eight years until "201".
 * Kyle's Parents and Kyle appear at the lighting of the Christmas tree despite being Jewish.
 * When Jesus dies Stan says, in shock, "Oh my God, Iraqis killed Jesus!" followed by Kyle, also in shock, saying, "You bastards!" The two usually say these lines when Kenny dies, but instead it was Jesus who died.
 * Upon Red Sleigh 2 crashing into the church, one Italian woman yells "La Morte Rossa!" which translates to "The Red Death!"

Continuity

 * The scene where Kyle tells Cartman that because of his actions, no one will be getting presents for Xmas (followed by Cartman's "Christ" comment resulting in the boys asking Jesus for help) is a word-for-word recreation of the scene in Jesus vs. Frosty in which the two boys that are prototypes for Stan and Kyle, realize that they're going to need help from Jesus in order to defeat the killer Frosty the Snowman.
 * The butt-faced couple (The Thompsons from "How to Eat with Your Butt") make a reappearance in the crowd at the beginning of the episode, along with Dr. Mephisto, Big Gay Al and Chef's parents.
 * The Underpants Gnomes return in this episode serving the role of Santa's elves, claiming they work for him during the two months before Christmas.
 * Kyle tells Cartman that to redeem himself from all the naughty things he did, he would have to find the cure for cancer and the cure for AIDS. Coincidentally, he actually does find the cure for AIDS in the season twelve episode "Tonsil Trouble".
 * Kyle Schwartz returns from the episode "The Entity".
 * Kenny returns, having died in the Season 5 episode, "Kenny Dies".

References to Popular Culture

 * "Red Sleigh Down" was heavily influenced by the 1999 movie Three Kings and the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down.
 * The robot dog that Cartman wants for Christmas reflects the robot dog fad of the early 2000s which started with Poo-Chi. However, it closely resembles Sony’s AIBO.
 * Santa’s palace closely resembles, and is named after, the Fortress of Solitude from Superman: The Movie.
 * The torture scene involving electrodes, Santa, "Santa's Balls," "I’m gonna fucking kill you!" and "We’re in for a long night because I don't know shit!", is a spoof of the torture scene involving Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. It also spoofs the torture scene in Three Kings, with the torturer saying "My main man" and pouring oil down his mouth and the part where Santa shoots interrogator though he actually doesn't get shot in Three Kings. The torturer also looks like the torturer from Three Kings. There also is a scene very similar to this one in Team America: World Police, though that movie was made later. The line when Santa was tortured and then saved by Jesus also has some references to film Red Dragon, which was released in the same year as current episode.
 * When the Iraqi torturing Santa tells him that the Chinese first used electrolysis to the balls as a means of torture this is a reference to the torture scene of Metal Gear Solid, when Ocelot tells Snake that the French first used electrolysis as a means of torture.
 * Jesus says "You're a bad liar" to Santa when he gets shot and is about to die. This is a direct quote from 1996 film Independence Day.
 * The two Iraqi children with large eyes are spoofs on the RankinBass Christmas specials. At the end of the episode, the faces of Stan, Kyle, and Cartman also briefly turn into "Rankin/Bass" faces.