Advent Reflection #20
A little off the topic of observing the "coming," I want to reflect on Christmas movies. 95% or more of them are dreck, but some of the older ones are charming enough. Some of them are not really Christmas movies; they just take place against the backdrop of Christmas, like "The Little Shop Around the Corner," which is adorable.
Everyone lists "It's a Wonderful Life" as a favorite Christmas movie, and it is durable, but I always found it slow, and a little tedious. I like "The Bishop's Wife" quite a bit; I would have to put it at the top of the list, mainly because although it is hardly biblical in its depiction of angels, it does have a good message about simplicity and calling. Not that we can expect much of spiritual depth from Hollywood, but at least in the old movies we hear real Christmas songs, carols, about the nativity. Not much of that on the Hallmark Channel.
Of course, any version of "A Christmas Carol" is a must. Even the Muppets.
On a side note, an ex-student wrote on Facebook that he was getting ready to go to his son's school's Winter Solstice program. It was all I could do not to post a comment asking if they were all going to howl at the moon in their all-together and do so against a backdrop of Stonehenge. Winter Solstice! My soul.
Which brings me around to the point. It is possible to go through the entire Christmas season now without one thought to the reason for the holy day.
Everyone lists "It's a Wonderful Life" as a favorite Christmas movie, and it is durable, but I always found it slow, and a little tedious. I like "The Bishop's Wife" quite a bit; I would have to put it at the top of the list, mainly because although it is hardly biblical in its depiction of angels, it does have a good message about simplicity and calling. Not that we can expect much of spiritual depth from Hollywood, but at least in the old movies we hear real Christmas songs, carols, about the nativity. Not much of that on the Hallmark Channel.
Of course, any version of "A Christmas Carol" is a must. Even the Muppets.
On a side note, an ex-student wrote on Facebook that he was getting ready to go to his son's school's Winter Solstice program. It was all I could do not to post a comment asking if they were all going to howl at the moon in their all-together and do so against a backdrop of Stonehenge. Winter Solstice! My soul.
Which brings me around to the point. It is possible to go through the entire Christmas season now without one thought to the reason for the holy day.
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