Probably my favourite film, ever. And since I live in the northern hemisphere, when I watch it every year during the first goddamned week of winter, it is, of course, as close to 21st December as possible. (Dunno if they still do, but it's a ritual at one of the US bases, possibly McMurdo, to screen it every 21st June).
I've been a Kurt Russell fan since I was a kiddie and he was making Disney films, and I've been keen on this film since my brother handed me the recorded-off-HBO VHS around Thanksgiving time (maybe 1983ish) and said, 'Watch this, and don't feel sorry for the dog.'