Editing Christmas by medium (section)

==Films==
{{See|List of Christmas films|Christian film industry|Santa Claus in film}}
[[File:It's A Wonderful Life.jpg|thumb|[[Donna Reed]], [[Jimmy Stewart]], and [[Karolyn Grimes]] in the 1946 American film ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'']] 
Many Christmas stories have been [[List of Christmas films|adapted to movies]] and [[TV specials]], and have been broadcast and repeated many times on TV. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Notable examples are the many versions of the ballet ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', the 1946 film ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'', and the similarly themed versions of Dickens' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', in which the elderly miser [[Ebenezer Scrooge]] is visited by ghosts and learns the errors of his ways. By contrast, the hero of the former, [[George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life)|George Bailey]], is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On Christmas Eve, [[Clarence Odbody|a guardian angel]] finds him in despair and prevents him from committing suicide, by supernaturally showing him how much he meant to the world around him.

A few films based on fictionalized versions of true stories have become Christmas specials themselves. The story behind the Christmas carol "[[Silent Night (song)|Silent Night]]" and the story of "[[Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]]" are two examples.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063220/|title=The Legend of Silent Night|date=25 December 1968|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0392925/|title=Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus|date=6 December 1974|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>

Films revolving around the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity story of Christmas]] are regularly produced such as ''[[The Nativity Story]]'' (2006), ''[[The Star (2017 film)|The Star]]'' (2017), and ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'' (1965).<ref name="Tsiao2021">{{cite web |last1=Tsiao |first1=Emily |title=Five Christmas Movies (and TV Specials) Actually About Christ |url=https://www.pluggedin.com/blog/five-christmas-movies-and-tv-specials-actually-about-christ/ |publisher=Plugged In |access-date=26 December 2024 |language=English |date=21 December 2021}}</ref> Sometimes, family films and classics boasting special effects and/or uplifting messages, but having no real relation to Christmas, are telecast during the season as part of the holiday programming. ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', for instance, was always telecast during the Christmas season between 1959 and 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thewizardofoz.info/wiki/The_Movie_-_The_Legend |title=The Movie - The Legend - OzWiki |publisher=Thewizardofoz.info |access-date=2014-04-06}}</ref> The action film ''[[Die Hard]]'' is seen by some as a Christmas film, as it takes place on the holiday, and is often viewed during the season,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/30-best-christmas-movies/p30|title=The 30 Best Christmas Movies Ever|publisher=Empireonline.com|access-date=2011-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120055157/http://www.empireonline.com/features/30-best-christmas-movies/p30#|archive-date=2012-01-20|url-status=live}}</ref> although whether or not ''Die Hard'' should be considered a Christmas film has been debated due to its story not being about the holiday itself. Others in this category include ''[[Iron Man 3]]'', ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'', ''[[Batman Returns]]'', ''[[Eyes Wide Shut]]'', ''[[Female Trouble]]'', ''[[Shazam! (film)|Shazam!]]''  and ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/4729e8ae-ca0b-4d4a-a43a-36e29cc33296|title=People are claiming Die Hard is a Christmas film and it's tearing the internet apart|first=Tomasz|last=Frymorgen|date=28 November 2017|website=BBC Three|access-date=27 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224010346/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/4729e8ae-ca0b-4d4a-a43a-36e29cc33296#|archive-date=2017-12-24|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/die-hard-is-the-best-christmas-film-top-films-to-watch-holiday-poll-list-not-a8092761.html|title=Die Hard is officially not a Christmas film|website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=5 December 2017|access-date=27 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224145713/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/die-hard-is-the-best-christmas-film-top-films-to-watch-holiday-poll-list-not-a8092761.html#|archive-date=2017-12-24|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/die-hard-christmas-movie/|title=Does DIE HARD Really Qualify as a Christmas Movie? - Nerdist|date=12 December 2017|access-date=27 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223030626/https://nerdist.com/die-hard-christmas-movie/#|archive-date=2017-12-23|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/die-hard-christmas-movie-debate-calgary-eyeopener-1.4450305|title=Why Die Hard is the ultimate Christmas movie — despite naysayers|access-date=27 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226162909/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/die-hard-christmas-movie-debate-calgary-eyeopener-1.4450305#|archive-date=2017-12-26|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tom-ward/why-die-hard-is-the-best-christmas-movie-of-all-time_b_2339117.html|title=Why Die Hard Is the Best Christmas Movie of All Time|date=24 December 2012|access-date=27 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014838/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tom-ward/why-die-hard-is-the-best-christmas-movie-of-all-time_b_2339117.html#|archive-date=2017-12-17|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], during the 2000s [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] usually showed a [[List of James Bond films|James Bond]] and/or a [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'']] film(s) during the Christmas Holidays whilst the [[BBC]] showed the [[The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)|''Chronicles of Narnia'']] and/or ''[[High School Musical]]'' films. And for many years [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] have shown American/Canadian made-for-TV Christmas films during the weeks before Christmas.

In North America, the holiday movie season often includes release of studios' most prestigious pictures, in an effort both to capture holiday crowds and to position themselves for [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] consideration. Next to summer, this is the second-most lucrative season for the industry. In fact, a few films each year open on the actual Christmas Day holiday. Christmas movies generally open no later than Thanksgiving, as their themes are not so popular once the season is over. Likewise, the [[home video]] release of these films is typically delayed until the beginning of the next year's Christmas season.

American Christmas-themed films are also broadcast on the [[Hallmark Channel]] and its companion channel [[Hallmark Movies & Mysteries]], which during the holiday season generally feature new films along with reruns of favorites from prior years.  Actresses [[Candace Cameron Bure]], [[Lacey Chabert]], and [[Danica McKellar]], along with actor [[Niall Matter]], are frequently featured in lead or major roles.  The films themselves generally feature a similar theme of a person who has "lost the Christmas spirit" and through "Christmas magic" regains it (commonly by a romantic encounter; frequently one of the two in the romance is a single parent or has lost someone special around a prior Christmas season).  Another theme plays on the "big city-small town" dynamic, whereby a lead character has either left a small hometown for the big city (and has had to return), or a big city person has to go to a small town, in either case deciding that the small town is where they should remain.  A main character will also have a Christmas-sounding name (such as "Holly") and/or the small town will (such as "Christmas Valley").

The settings are usually in the northern United States, or in a mountain area (such as Colorado), where snow (and the ensuing "White Christmas") are used as a backdrop for the film (though the films themselves are often filmed in British Columbia due to favorable film tax benefits).

As of 2020 ''[[The Grinch (film)|The Grinch]]'' is the [[List of highest-grossing Christmas films|highest grossing Christmas film]] of all time. ''[[Green Book (film)|Green Book]]'' was the last movie with a Christmas setting to win the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].