Christmas films can be divided into three categories:
1. Films entirely, or in large part, about the Christmas holiday. Films in this category always feature important references to the holiday’s symbols, such as family gatherings, trees and decorations, the Christ child or Santa Claus. A Christmas Story (1983) is perhaps the most successful example.
2. Films in which Christmas is incidental to the plot. The holiday may be important to the story, but as in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), it is not central.
3. Films which have nothing to do with Christmas but are often shown around the holiday period.
What I take from this, I had no idea that A Christmas Story is only as old as me. And isn’t Meet Me in St. Louis really such a popular Christmas movie purely because of the Judy Garland tune, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”?
