With the holidays approaching, radio stations are starting to play Christmas music (who am I kidding, there's been Christmas music playing since October). As I listened, I was struck by the increasingly loose interpretation of the term "Christmas Song" which now includes any song with any reference to winter, presents, Jesus, or the new year apparently. I'm not just talking about the classics like Joy to the World and Jingle Bells that aren't about Christmas, but have worked their way into popular Christmas culture, but things like Linus and Lucy and My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music. The mention of snowflakes and brown paper packages does tend to evoke some holiday-esque imagery, but the song is about scared little kids being comforted in a thunderstorm. I guess we could pretend it's a blizzard and then at least it could be a winter type song, but in all actuality, based on context from the film or play, the song was written to take place in the late spring or even summer, so, not really a Christmas song in any sense.
It did get me thinking about how everyone sees things a little differently and if we included everyone's perspective, we get a greater and greater mix of material. Personally, I'd rather keep things very traditional, with the majority of my Christmas playlist being filled by the likes of Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby and other Crooners from the greatest era of song writing; back when people where famous for singing, not performing. That traditionalism has crept into my film selections for Christmas as well, with Rankin/Bass Productions behind almost half of my "must watch" list each season. Other front runners in the annual list are A Muppet's Christmas Carol, The Polar Express, A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, and my guilty pleasure, Jingle All the Way. Yeah, I don't know why I like it either. A few years back, I considered adding Die Hard to my list. I love the film, and would love to watch it at least once a year, but, I just couldn't get myself to believe it was a Christmas movie. At it's core, there's nothing Christmas-y about it. Maybe you disagree, but I'm thinking, like the songs I was confused by on the radio, just because something is remotely associated with the holiday or holiday season does not mean it's a holiday song, or movie.
This brings me to my big question. I made a solid case about Die Hard to a sibling and they asked back, "Does that mean Home Alone isn't a Christmas movie either?" So, what do you think, is Home Alone really a Christmas movie, or simply a movie that takes place on Christmas? Comment below if you can make a case either way.
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