There’s nothing quite like being an important businesswoman who, through various plot conveniences, has to go to a charming Christmas town and meet a ruggedly handsome, brown-haired, plaid-wearing Christmas man who reminds them of the magic of small towns and the Christmas season.
For many people, watching stereotypical and predictably cheesy Christmas movies is a yearly tradition. It’s become a hallmark of the Christmas season, and despite staples of the genre like low production value, questionable acting, and contrived plots, there’s something about them that keeps us coming back. What is it?
For one, they’re relatively safe and wholesome. In our modern age, it feels hard to find movies that you can leave on and not worry about something inappropriate taking place. Cheesy Christmas movies are something teens and toddlers and grandparents can watch together. Beyond this, despite having ridiculous plots at times, they’re often predictable, and with predictability comes a feeling of safety.
Yet, if we’re being honest, these Christmas movies often offer only a vague, sugary-sweet, and simplified version of Christmas. The real Christmas—the birth of Jesus—was a dramatic, messy, and unexpected turn in human history. Yet, this is what was needed to bring real peace. The only way for humanity to have peace with God was through the incarnation and eventual sacrificial death of Jesus. While we might quote the prophet Isaiah (specifically Isaiah 9) around Christmas time, it’s also Isaiah who says,
“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.”
Conversation Starter: Why do you think cheesy Christmas movies are so popular?