Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
With a pandemic bearing down, Christmas is a bit subdued this year. That makes it a good year to curl up in bed with a Christmas book or plop down on your couch for a magical Christmas movie.
I must admit I’ve read very few Christmas books, except as a young daddy. That’s when I delved into certain children’s classics such as “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” or one of the many Berenstain Bears’ holiday stories out there.
Of the few Christmas-centric “chapter books” I remember reading, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” is undoubtedly my favorite. I must admit, however, that even that story I remember mainly from the movies. There are literally dozens of films about old Ebenezer Scrooge; my favorite, by far, is the 1984 version starring George C. Scott.
Like many families, we’ve collected several Christmas movies through the years. And while modern-day families may forgo the “collections” and simply livestream their holiday shows, I’m sure they too have their annual favorites.
I heard recently that, for older generations like mine, the top sentimental favorite Christmas movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life” (which always makes me think of my father), while younger generations consider “Home Alone” their favorite. The two films couldn’t be more different —the former is a 1946 black-and-white film starring Jimmy Stewart and the latter is a 1990 comedy starring Macaulay Culkin — and both are worth watching, but for completely different reasons.
Christmas movies vary wildly in their themes and storylines, with one commonality: They’re all feel-good movies in the end. Even the ominous-sounding “A Nightmare Before Christmas” is actually fun and uplifting — and, of course, they all live happily ever after because, well, it’s Christmas.
The magic and optimism of this season is what entices us. Even one of my favorites, the nostalgic comedy “A Christmas Story” about little Ralphie Parker and his quest for a “Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle” has the wisp of wonderment in the air.
There are hundreds of movies with Christmas themes, made for kids of all ages.
Of course, there’s one story from which it all grows, an ancient story about a poor and honorable man migrating to another land with his pregnant wife. They can’t even find a room where they can stay overnight, so they are forced to hole up in a barn, where the woman goes into labor and gives birth to a baby boy.
Their circumstances were desperate, but there’s something about this baby that’s special. There’s a star in the sky, magnificently brilliant, and it shines over the “manger” as if to announce the coming of something great.
The star is so awe-inspiring that three wealthy and powerful men follow it to the barn where this little baby is born. They are somehow aware that they stand before a great and life-saving gift to the world.
The three men, humbled by what they see, give the child an offering of gifts, as a way to celebrate the gift that has arrived, miraculously, on Earth.
And the baby grew up to be a man with a message of Peace, Hope and Love. He would grow up to change the world forever.
That’s not just a good movie, it’s a storyline for the ages.
Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at: