The Christmas Movies We Want
The biggest news in Christmas movies seems to be the sequels or remakes of Christmas movies we have seen before. A Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Polar Express are all making headlines for possible sequels in the works.
When was the last time a Christmas remake or sequel did anything other than make people feel ripped off? What we need are NEW Christmas movies, different stories and a return to the more serious and dramatic Christmas.
Here are some ideas:
~ George Washington’s Christmas ~
Most people never associate George Washington with Christmas. A man with his reputation, history and accomplishments is just not remembered for his celebration of Christmas.
But he should be. Christmas is intertwined in his storied life.
This movie needs to be made because most never associate Christmas with the 18th century.
That needs to change.
Christmas was as diversely celebrated in the 18th century as it is today – and maybe more so. While Washington isn’t widely remembered for his religious background he did have a very spiritual side that was well associated with Christmas.
His Christmas at Valley Forge is an inspiration for anyone who loves both Christmas and liberty.
Such a movie would be a drama and would become a Christmas classic.
~ A Visit from St. Nicholas ~
Right on the heels of the life of George Washington is the Christmas story of Clement C. Moore, author of A Visit from St. Nicholas.
The famous “Twas the Night Before Christmas…” verse swept the country in the early 19th century – a true viral media sensation – and was celebrated as a tradition of Christmas Eve reading for generations.
It single handedly established Santa Claus as a gift-bringer through the theater of the mind.
But the story of the creation of A Visit from St. Nicholas is a great story in and of itself. It deserves to be a movie.
It was composed on a snowy Christmas Eve sleigh ride as Moore, an academic and theologian, wrote the piece for the entertainment of his children while he distributed turkeys to the poor at the behest of his wife.
Moore modeled his own sleigh driver for the jolly, rotund central figure of his Christmas poem.
His children were delighted and in later years would share the delightful poem with a newspaper.
As was custom for the time, other newspapers picked up the feature. Readers quickly adopted it as a Christmas tradition – sharing the magic of St. Nicholas with each new generation, giving rise to huge Christmas stockings, fueling the traditions of Christmas trees, and watching Christmas Eve skies for Santa and his reindeer.
As an academic, Moore was slightly embarrassed by the work.
But as it spread and grew in popularity he finally embraced his place as a Christmas legend – a great story that would make an awesome movie.
~ Christmas 1945 ~
Christmas 1945 is considered one of the biggest years of Christmas ever. It celebrated the season of peace as soldiers returned from war around the world.
There are literally thousands of ways to frame a storyline around the true celebration of Christmas in 1945.
Folks returned from every theater of war after years of separation.
Some were wounded and scarred. Others were returning to a world completely changed. Some didn’t return at all.
Christmas before, during and after the war all gave a sense of relief and true celebration for Christmas 1945.
~ Rudolph ~
Instead of a CGI remake or sequel to the Polar Express why not make a live-action telling of the story of Rudolph?
The story of the creation of the story could be woven into Rudolph’s legend, making it on the level of Clement Clark Moore’s Christmas tale.
Generations have loved and still faithfully watch the Rankin Bass television special dedicated to Rudolph’s story. A live-action take on the Rudolph legend would not take away from that.
It could, in fact, extend it.
Today’s AI-driven cinema could pull it off with a strong script that focuses on the storytelling.
~ Joseph’s Nativity ~
The story of the Nativity has been attempted in a variety of times and methods.
Of all Christmas stories it may be the one most challenged to satisfy. Diverse religious traditions and scriptural interpretations may prevent universal approval of such a movie.
However, with the widespread popularity of The Chosen it cannot be dismissed as impossible. A revival of the Nativity story is due for Christmas enthusiasts.
A fresh take on it all would be the version of events from the perspective of Joseph, step-father of the baby Jesus. Such human interpretations of the story of Jesus have what has made The Chosen so popular.
Joseph’s story is unique in the history of Christmas and one not often considered.
Joseph and Mary were “betrothed” – or, in other words, engaged. There was an intentional love story before the visit of the Angel. That needs to be explored, both as an explanation of Jewish marriage tradition and just how Joseph and Mary viewed each other.
After an angel disclosed that she was “blessed among women” and would carry the baby, Mary famously sojourned to visit Elizabeth, where their combined wonder at motherhood is a fascinating sub-plot to the whole saga.
But when Joseph gets the same angelic visitor is where the story really takes off. He is told not to be fearful of marrying Mary and his is perhaps the greatest step-parenting tale ever told.
Joseph was the male role model during the formative years of the child Jesus.
While little is known of these years from scripture there is nonetheless a part of the Christmas story there not frequently considered.
Such a movie would provide a revitalization of Christmas conversations that have sadly waned over the centuries. It’s time to bring this story back.
~ The Puritan Christmas ~
The story of Thanksgiving and Christmas together as an American tradition is yet another Christmas tale just begging to be told.
The assumption of many – even historians, in some cases – is that Christmas arrived dead on the shores of North America in the 17th century. For some, thanks ironically in part to modern movies, Christmas in America wasn’t reawakened until British writer Charles Dickens went viral with A Christmas Carol.
That’s all patently false and buried under that fake history is a great tale of unfolding Christmas traditions that are uniquely American.
Thanksgiving was brought to American shores by many events – not just one feast prepared in New England and celebrated with natives. Thanksgiving was a regular habit of governing authorities whenever a big event happened. A call to acknowledge the hand of God in the good fortunes of a region was a regular occurrence.
That a Thanksgiving became traditional at the end of a successful harvest was not just a rite of autumn but it was, quite literally, the celebratory party of Christmas for Puritans.
Yes, I said, Puritans. Those rigid, faith-focused ancestors so wrongly portrayed as being anti-Christmas.
They were not anti-Christmas. They were anti-paganism, approaching Christmas in a sacred worshipful way AFTER beginning the season with the family gatherings and traditional “party” trappings of Thanksgiving.
How did they do that? How did that happen?
Telling the story would not only right a lot of Christmas misperceptions it would share elements of the Christmas story many do not understand and expose the origins of many of the beloved traditions in food, music and decorations we continue to use today.
~ Why We Need More Great Christmas Movies ~
The Christmas movies we love share many common elements: great stories, memorable characters, proprietary music and a unique take on a beloved season.
Christmas is a genre in entertainment that embraces drama, comedy, action and romance. It fits everything.
Music, as well, is an embedded and cherished part of Christmas storytelling.
For more than a century, movies have been as big a part of modern Christmas traditions as the food and the décor during the extended season.
We need more movies of our Christmas past, our Christmas history and our Christmas imagination.
There are many more Christmas stories to explore. We need more Christmas heroes. We need to embrace the historical Christmas, the stories of beloved Christmas carols and the traditions of Christmas we share around the world.
The creative Christmas needs to continually flourish as well, with new Christmas fiction. There are more Scrooges, other Rudolphs, and greater Elfs to invent.
Christmas is going to be celebrated every 12 months. It needs to be fueled by an ever expanding – but not repeated – library of shared stories, tales, dramas and comedies.
