The effect Christmas has on society is incredible. Once a year, for an entire month, most of the world just seems to stop, devoting their lives to a single holiday. It's the spirit of the thing, the idea of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. It;s the charity towards the poor, the rekindling of friendships, the cementing of familial relationships.
Small wonder, then, that a number of films have Christmas scenes -- even when they're not Christmas movies! The holiday has so many meanings and traditions associated with it that it is simply needed in some flicks.
F'rinstance....
Toy Story emphasizes the tradition of giving and receiving gifts. The toys are always a-flutter over being replaced or forgotten, and so every birthday or gifting holiday is watched closely and perceived as a potential harbinger of doom. But from the looks on the faces of Andy and Molly, it's the happiest time of the year. And Mr. Potato Head even gets a wife!
Saved! takes place in a Christian school made up of far-sighted people (really? no one knew she was pregnant?). Naturally, Christmas is a big time of year for this place. It emphasizes both the passage of time (Winter break is the halfway point in a school year) and the evangelical insanity of Mandy Moore's devilish Hilary Fay. Guffaw as she tries to convert the Jewish girl to Christianity! Ha-ha! Those Christians and their Jesus!
The Harry Potter movies also take Christmas as a passage of time. This is where the relationship between the holiday and family is most emphasized on this list, for Harry cannot go home to his parents over the holidays -- they're dead. And his aunt and uncle are horrid. Loneliness and the power of friendship come into play here, although the season also serves as a nice way to allow the leads to do some detective work. Hard to get caught in an empty school, no? Besides, it also provided an excuse for the awesome Yule Ball sequence in The Goblet of Fire.
Everyone Says I Love You also looks at the passage of time and relationships. The film takes place over one year, and so it is only natural that Christmas is used for the Grand Finale, as the extended family goes to Paris for a Marx Brothers-themed party at the Cinematheque. And, yes, relationships, since the whole movie is about love. It is the only time Woody Allen's character is seen with the rest of the family, since most of the time he's in Ex Land courting Julia Roberts. But the final sequence with Goldie Hawn -- walking along the Seine, remembering Christmases past, and dancing a wonderful ballet -- always struck me as having some Christmas magic to it.
And, finally, there is the musical that emphasizes the spiritual symbolism within the holiday. But don't take my word for it. Let the film speak for itself:
Nora:
Did you ever see the faces of the children
They get so excited.
Waking up on christmas morning
Hours before the winter suns ignited.
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heavens generosity.
Peeping round the door
to see what parcels are for free
In curiosity.
And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
All:
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.
Both:
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
How can he be saved?
And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you--Can you--Can you hear me?
How can he be saved?
Tommy:
See me, feel me
Touch me, heal me.
See me, feel me
Touch me, heal me!
Nora:
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Frank:
Surrounded by his friends he sits so silently,
And unaware of everything.
Playing poxy pin ball
picks his nose and smiles and
Pokes his tongue at everything.
Nora:
I believe in love
but how can men who've never seen
Light be enlightened.
Only if he's cured
will his spirits future level ever heighten.
Both:
And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
All:
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.
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