The Christian the Lion meme stems from the emotional 1971 reunion between a lion and his former owners, Anthony 'Ace' Bourke and John Rendall. After purchasing Christian from a London department store and raising him in the city, the pair successfully reintroduced him to the wild in Kenya. A video of their reunion a year later, where Christian joyfully recognizes his old friends and leaps into their arms, became a massive viral sensation on YouTube in the late 2000s. In internet culture, the template is used to represent intense, pure joy or the overwhelming relief of returning to something beloved, whether it is a long-lost friend, a favorite hobby, or simply the comfort of home.