With the first snowfall on campus and people putting up their Christmas lights outside their homes, the holiday season is rapidly approaching. During this time, many people enjoy watching classic movies with their friends and families to unwind and get into the holiday spirit. Here at UMD, students intend to do the same.
According to Anna Scheinder, an operation management and business analytics and supply chain management freshman major, she loves Elf because “it’s so classic.” The nostalgic factor that these movies have is what makes people rewatch them every year during the holidays.
Similarly, journalism major and French studies minor senior Emely Miranda-Aguilar, notes that her favorite Christmas movie is How The Grinch Stole Christmas, but specifically “The Jim Carrey version, because it’s nostalgic and super funny.”
Holiday movies have been quintessential to American culture since the 1890s, when director George Albert Smith made the very first Christmas movie, “Santa Claus,” in 1898, featuring a nanny who puts her kids to sleep, and later Santa, who arrives to fill their stockings with gifts after climbing through a dusty chimney. Soon after, movies like the 1994 film The Santa Clause and 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street came along, paving the way for the classic films people love today, including Elf and Home Alone.
However, for many students, especially international students, certain songs rather than movies have shaped their understanding of the holiday season. For example, Fatmatta M’Bai, a bioscience freshman major, doesn’t have a favorite holiday movie, but she loves the song ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham!.
Classic holiday movies like these are quintessential to the holiday experience. Regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or any other holiday at this time of year, these movies help make the holiday season feel more magical and revive the nostalgic memories associated with this time of year.