For the Love of Christmas Movies

As a society, especially in the U.S., we love Christmas movies. Most of us grew up with "the classics," from Home Alone and Miracle on 34th Street to Rankin-Bass specials, A Christmas Story, and A Christmas Carol. Yet, the modern Christmas movie has positively exploded. Hallmark, for instance, has reams of them, which the public gobbles up every year.

Our enchantment with Christmas films has so influenced us that we even watch them in the middle of summer (see Hallmark's Gold Crown Christmas preview week/Christmas in July for examples). The question is, why have these films, specials, and so forth gripped us so tightly? Is it simply nostalgia and the need for something warm and happy, or is something else going on here? Has Christmas-based entertainment lost its edge, or has its year-round accessibility given it a new one?