Source for photo above: google images

The Origins of Santa Clause

Hundreds of years ago a monk named Nicholas of Myra, who later became known as St. Nicholas, permanently changed the holiday known as Christmas. It is estimated that he was born around 280 A.D. in modern-day Turkey. His legend tells the story of a charitable man who helped three young women whose desperate father was going to sell them into slavery or prostitution for money. Over time, Nicholas of Myra would come to be known as the famed Santa Clause.

The First Christmas Movie

Although Santa Clause as a legend has been around for many hundreds of years, it also seems as if Christmas movies have always been a key part of the holiday season. Did you know that they’ve been around since the late 1800s? The first Christmas movie was Santa Claus made in 1898, not the Christmas classics of A Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). Little did the writers know that it would forever change the holiday season. For example, modern-day streaming services such as Disney+, have approximately 42 Christmas movies of 500 total available movies, or 8.4%.

How Christmas Movies Gained Popularity

Christmas movies became popular in the 80’s when the now Christmas classic, A Christmas Story, was released. It came out on November 18, 1983, and was an instant hit now grossing a total of over  $19 million.

And that’s not all, classics such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas also made the holiday into what it is today. A Charlie Brown Christmas earned a total of over 20 million dollars, and Miracle on 34th Street received a total of over 46 million dollars, but that pales in comparison to the whopping $61,372,407 made by the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie.

Favorite Christmas Movies Across Generations

Christmas movies took the media by storm after the 1980s. If you go onto platforms such as Buzzfeed, you’ll probably find quizzes asking you what your favorite Christmas movie is. This is a fun and interactive way to see if you agree with popular opinions. However, have you ever noticed that you and your parents may or may not agree on what’s the best Christmas classic?

Statista says that 81% of people from 45-64 years old confirmed watching Christmas movies. This was the highest statistic of the different age groups researched in this experiment, with 69 % of Americans aged 18-29 watching Christmas movies in 2022. Clearly Christmas movies are still maintaining their popularity. However, there exists differences in opinion when it comes to  favorite Christmas movies; according to WKQC, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation “can’t be beat” as the favorite for Generation X (1965-1980). Nevertheless, Millennials (1981-1996) argue that Home Alone fills the spot of best Christmas Movie. What about Gen Z?

Take this poll to determine what Central’s favorite Christmas movie is!