It's that time of the year where everyone gets into that age-old argument of whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. And while, on one hand, I want to say no because it just happens to take place during the holidays and has nothing to do with the holiday itself, but on the other hand, anything that makes people get in the holiday spirit counts as Christmasy.
Not every Christmas movie has to be related directly to Christmas. We have "A Christmas Story," "Elf" and "The Grinch," but there are others. A lot of people I know really only watch "Die Hard" during the holidays and it really gets them in the spirit.
For me, there are some little things that really get me in the spirit: cranberry juice and Sprite, going shopping with my mom at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Everyone has little things that get them in the spirit, and it's not really anyone else's place to tell them that they're wrong.
The holidays are a time for feeling cheery. You get together with friends and family, you reflect on good times, and have some good food. Not everyone has the same experiences with the holidays and some people don't enjoy some "traditions." Some people have to make their own. For some people, baking is a Christmas tradition, for some, it could be ordering pizza. There is no handbook of Christmas traditions, and that's one of the great things about this holiday.
People have been making their own Christmas traditions forever. Christmas traditions are about what makes you feel close to the people around you and how you spread cheer and show your love. This is my first year in college, and I've made a really good group of close friends. We decided to make our own tradition of doing Secret Santa and decided to put a little spin on it by having everyone wrap their presents in the school newspaper.
I love it. I love watching all of my friends go shopping for presents. I love walking into my friend's room and seeing all of the presents under the little fake tree. It's a new tradition that we made and it gets me in the holiday mood.
Buying and decorating a tree, watching Christmas movies, buying and wrapping presents, baking, these are all traditions, and the fact that most people do them doesn't make them any less Christmasy. All the little traditions that you make up aren't any less Christmasy just because no one else does them. Anything that puts you in the mood is great and Christmasy.
Due to all of this, I guess the argument is settled; "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. If that is one of the movies that you like to watch this time of the year to get you in the spirit, then that is fine. Please, just please everyone, please stop fighting over whether or not it is. Please.
