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For instance, it predates everything except the first two movies. Additionally, Han Solo eventually shows up, and Luke and Leia are both there as well.
I will post followup questions regarding the made-for-tv Ewok movies should this one prove popular.
TL;DR:
Disney canon:
Unknown as of end of 2014, but probably Legends. (UPDATE: As per Richard's later answer, it's most certainly not canon as of 2015)
So far it hasn't been listed among "these are New Canon" items, but also not listed among items clearly going into Legends canon.
Unless and until someone from DisneyLucasFilm clarifies that, we can speculate that it's Legends (seems like a safe bet) but we just don't know for sure.
Wookieepedia lists it under "Legends" list but I wasn't able to find a cite, from either Chee or Heddle.
Pre-Disney canon:
No canon level for the whole thing overall
It's NOT a movie (G-canon) or post-movie TV series (T-canon).
Bits and pieces range from C-canon (confirmed in other works) or S-Canon (Can be contradicted by C-canon level works in the future).
From Wiki: Canonicity of the special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is technically in the Star Wars canon, which means that the events depicted are part of the greater continuity that includes the other films, novels, comic books, video games, etc. Generally, it falls in the C-Canon in the overall Star Wars continuity.
According to Leland Chee, the keeper of The Holocron, an internal Star Wars continuity database at Lucasfilm:
contains at least 28 individual entries relating to elements of the holiday special, most elements from the holiday special are definitely considered canon; however, there are specific rules as to what is what.
First off, any element from the holiday special that is referenced in another work is considered C-Canon (such as Life Day, Chewbacca's family, etc.).
Any element from the holiday special that is not referenced in other works is considered S-Canon, which means that it is canon, and that it "happened," but its canonicity is not set in stone.
The only element from the holiday special where the canonicity was disputed was reused footage of Chief Bast, a character who was killed during the destruction of the Death Star from the first film. Despite being portrayed by the same actor, he is intended to be a different character.
No. Nope. Nai. Nyet. Non. Rara. Nein. Pù shi.
Disney were very precise in their description of the new canon. Moving forward from their purchase of LucasFilm...
...While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.
On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels. In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books.
Note the singular lack of mention of the Holiday Special, Ewoks films, Novelisations or the Star Wars Radio Plays, all of which are now considered to be part of the "New Legends" canon, despite having been considered G-canon before.
They already have. The character of Boba Fett was introduced in an animated segment and the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk (as seen in Revenge of the Sith) was heavily modeled on the planetary models made for the Holiday special. Life Day gets a mention in The Mandalorian.
It's not known at this time, but the quote from Starwars.com does make it clear that anything in the Legends canon is considered fair game for the writers:
While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.
