By: G.W. Pomichter (Executive Producer: HWWS WebTV)
It’s the year 2020. That’s 2,020 years Anno Domino, or translated roughly as “The Year of our Lord.” It’s Christmas time.
For many, most especially this year, this means that it is a time to reflect on the past year. For others it is a time to celebrate and revel in the coming year. There are as many ways to spend this special and thought provoking time as there are people in the world. Because of this diversity of ideas, there as almost as many holiday stories.
There are holiday stories that reflect the hopes, fears, ideals and reflections of a globe filled with diversity of background, belief and experience, and here we endeavor to share the TOP 10 stories of all time.
To begin we will start at the beginning. What is Christmas? For so many, this holiday season is not necessarily about a religious holiday, but it is about a time of the year, or a spirit of generosity or altruism. For others it means something else entirely, or celebrates another spiritual or religious belief. That is whay out first category is “defining Christmas,” through the “Power of Belief,” and our first nominations go to these great tales.
Power of Belief:
10. Nightmare Before Christmas: (Defining Christmas for Yourself)
a. Charlie Brown Christmas
b. The Christmas Song (adapted and arranged by Various Artists Sinatra,
Nat King Cole)
9. Miracle on 34th Street (Film)
a. Netflix’s “The Christmas Chronicles” (Representing Power of Belief films
and movies for Families and Adults — Often Comedic)
b. From Ryan (Jack Frost with Michael Keaton)
c. Elf (Thomas Carter Rochester)
d. The Santa Clause (Tim Allen)
e. Santa Clause The Movie (Dudley Moore)
8. Santa Clause is Coming to Town / Rudolph / Frosty / Jack Frost (Classic
Animated/Clay Stop Motion) Tales (The Outsider / Power of Belief / Magic)
a. Polar Express
This season is oft referred to as that of “giving, and so it is only proper, as we examine the great and rich history of holiday tales, we are brought next to tales of generosity and altruism. The stories listed below are those that we believed best illustrated this unique human quality.
Altruism:
7. White Christmas (Count your blessings, Friendship and comradery, Altruism)
a. The Nutcraker
6. A Christmas Story (Wishes, Lessons, Hopes – personal growth)
a. Hallmark Traditional Movies
b. National Lampoons Christmas vacation
5. The Gift of The Magi by O'Henry
a. The Little Drummer Boy (Song) (Thoughtfulness, Altruism in giving)
b. The Gift (song)
c. Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (Christian)
d. The Christmas Shoes (Song – Film)
These stories, songs and films speak to the spirit of human kindness and the desire to give, but an overwhelming piece of the psychological puzzle that heads to the desire for generosity, is the notion of self. Not selfishness, but instead, this concept of self is best described as the impact of one’s existence on the family, community and even the world. It is arguable that it is this piece of the Chrsitmas story that has expanded it from a Christian holy day, to a global holiday, as the celebration leans heavily upon the presumed birth of a child destined for greatness. To best understand this holiday element we have selected stories that reflect the search and discovery of self, and it’s importance in the season.
Impact / Hope / SELF:
4. It’s a Wonderful Life (Celebrates the sometimes hidden or unknown impact of
one life.)
a. Mary Did You Know (Song)
b. Boys Town (1938)(Spencer Tracey & Mickey Rooney)(Tue Story)
3. The Night Before Christmas (Poem)(Celebrating Traditions, Family, Home)
a. Celebrate Me Home (Kenny Loggins)
b. I’ll be home for Christmas
As we examine the stories we’ve selected, it is inescapable that in our endeavors to be our best selves, we all fail from time to time. We want to embrace the notion that we impact those around us, but we feel hopelessness and a sense of self-deprecation. We want to give, but either from a lack of resources or sometimes a jaded sense of low self-worth, or an inflated sense of status, we can fail. We want to believe, but in years like this, 2020, we see the empty chairs at our tables, and the empty crutches of our loved ones and we find revelry and belief to be so very hard. It for this reason that our team saw the reflective nature of redemption to be one of the most vital to the spirit of the holidays, and select such tales to round out our list.
Redemption / Christmas Spirit / Hope:
2. The Grinch by: Dr. Suess, (most polled enjoy modern retellings in Film [Jim
Carey Live Action])
a. While a derivation of A Christmas Carol, votes were enough to warrant a
separate listing.
1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (AKA: Scrooge)(Derivatives include The
Grinch etc…)
a. Scrooged
b. The Grinch
c. The Muppets Christmas Carol
These stories give us a peek into all of our own avarice. They examine and our own grief and our own shortcomings, and bring us through them into the light of hope. The characters from these tales remind us that we are truly redeemable, and that we can grow and change. They lend weight to the ideas other tales tell, by making each of us capable of finding in ourselves the spirit of the season.
By reviewing the stories we selected, we leave it to you to decide for yourself what tales of the season speak best to you. Do you find joy in belief? Do you desire to give? Do your find worth in your impact? Do you feel renewed or redeemed at this time of the year? No matter the impact that these tales have on each reader, viewer, or listener, there is no denying their greater impact on our society, and in these often dark times, the need for such truly inspired tales of comfort and joy!
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