Buick

LORELAI: I have a spider whose previous credits include the bathtub scene from Annie Hall trapped under that cup.

DEAN: The size of a Buick?

Buick is a division of the US car manufacturer, General Motors. In the North American market, Buick is a premium automobile brand, selling luxury vehicles positioned above GM’s mainstream brands, while priced below the flagship luxury Cadillac division.

Dean is quoting from Annie Hall, when Alvy describes the spider as “the size of a Buick”. He obviously knows the film, and probably watched it with Lorelai and Rory.

[Picture shows a 1977 Buick – the same year Annie Hall was released].

The Bathtub Scene from Annie Hall

LORELAI: I have a spider whose previous credits include the bathtub scene from Annie Hall trapped under that cup.

The film Annie Hall, previously discussed and frequently mentioned.

In the movie, there is a scene where Annie calls Alvy to come over to her apartment at 3 am even though they have broken up – which turns out to be because there is a spider in her bath. It turns out to be two very large spiders. After Alvy deals with the spiders, he and Annie get back together.

It’s interesting that Lorelai references this scene to Dean, who has broken up with Rory and now unexpectedly turned up at her house. It seems like she thinks of it because she wants Rory and Dean to also get back together, as if Dean killing the spider will somehow bring Rory back to him, as Alvy gets Annie back.

Cigar Humidor

EMILY: I bought him a cigar humidor … It’s gorgeous. [sits down] It belonged to a lieutenant in the army in World War I. Apparently, he kept it in his field office in France. There are carvings in the bottom that the dealer said could possibly be coded messages.

A humidor is a humidity-controlled box used for storing cigars, cigarettes, cannabis, or pipe tobacco. Either too much or too little humidity can be harmful to tobacco products; a humidor’s primary function is to maintain a steady, desirable moisture level inside; secondarily it protects its contents from physical damage and deterioration from sunlight.

Even though Emily disapproves of Richard’s cigar club, she still buys him a beautiful and expensive antique humidor for his cigars.

Michel Insults the Hungarians

LORELAI: What did you say?

MICHEL: I don’t know.

LORELAI: What do you mean you don’t know? All you had to say was ‘Welcome to Stars Hollow,’ that’s it.

MICHEL: I know, I thought I did, and then they got angry and threw bread sticks and butter pats.

In the inn, when greeting the Hungarians, Michel says in Hungarian, A te országod tele van csúnya emberekkel. The translation in English is, “Your country is full of ugly people.”

Somehow he confused this with udvözöljük, meaning “welcome”. This doesn’t seem like a simple error or misunderstanding. He must have at least known how to say Stars Hollow!

Jamie Loves Paris

RORY: Okay, skip to the end, I can’t take it. How did it turn out?

PARIS: He told me he loved me … I never thought I’d hear a boy tell me he loved me … He invited me back up for Easter break.

After spending Christmas together, Jamie tells Paris that he loves her, and invites her to spend Easter in Philadelphia with his family. Paris is thrilled and disbelieving, but she never says that she loves Jamie, or indicates that she reciprocated with her own love confession. It may be that Paris is more in love with love, and the idea of having a nice boyfriend, than she is with Jamie himself, or that she simply doesn’t trust her own feelings.

Eight Days of Hanukkah

PARIS: The place smelled like cinnamon all the time, and there was a fire in the fireplace, and a ton of presents. I mean, hundreds of presents. I’m looking at this mound of gifts, and I’m thinking, ‘Eight days of Hanukkah . . . who was the skinflint who thought up that deal?’

RORY: Don’t the eight days symbolize something?

PARIS: Yes, they symbolize eight days of ripping off the little kids who can’t have a Hanukkah bush.

The eight days of Hanukkah honour the eight days that one small portion of oil miraculously lasted during the cleansing and reconsecrating of the Jewish Temple after it had been defiled. It is traditional to light candles, pray, and sing songs during Hanukkah, as well as eating foods fried in oil. Gift-giving isn’t a traditional part of Hanukkah, although children are often given money, special gold coins, or chocolate coins.

Hanukkah Bush

PARIS: One year, I asked my mother if we could get a Hanukkah bush. She made me watch Shoah the rest of the week.

A Hanukkah bush is a bush or tree (real or artificial) that some Jewish families in North America display in their homes for the duration of Hanukkah. It may, for all intents and purposes, be a Christmas tree with Jewish-themed ornaments.

It is a bone of contention between Jews as to whether it is a distinctly Jewish symbol, or whether it is simply a variation of a Christmas tree. Many rabbis discourage them. The phrase “Hanukkah bush” is not serious, and generally meant to be a tongue in cheek way to say that a Jewish family is following some pleasant secular Christmas traditions without celebrating Christmas itself.

The documentary film Shoah, previously discussed. Paris’ mother obviously takes a fairly hard line approach to Hanukkah bushes.

Eggnog

PARIS: Everything was red and silver and there was eggnog … It’s disgusting … But disgusting in a really great way.

Eggnog is a rich, sweet drink, traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites (which gives it a frothy texture, and its name). Distilled spirits such as brandy, rum, whisky or bourbon are often a key ingredient. Throughout North America and some European countries, eggnog is traditionally consumed over the Christmas season.

Paris’ Christmas With Jamie

PARIS: I met his parents … He bought me a ticket, and I took the train to Philadelphia, and he met me at the station, and I spent Christmas with him and his family … It was perfect. They had a Christmas tree twelve feet tall … And they had tiny wreaths hanging from every doorknob, and mistletoe and candles everywhere.

Paris has never celebrated Christmas (she’s Jewish), and her parents always go out of town for the holidays, leaving her alone with her nanny. This miserable time of year for her is transformed into a veritable Hallmark card come to life when Jamie invites her to spend Christmas with his family in Philadelphia. She loves everything about Christmas, and is virtually floating on air after the holidays.

Philadelphia has been mentioned several times in Gilmore Girls. Paris would have quite a long train trip to visit Jamie – it’s four and a half hours by train from Hartford to Philadelphia, with a change at New Haven.