Christmas connect

What makes Christmas so special? Is it the crisp nip in the air, holiday discounts at the mall, all the scrumptious food, or getting the family together, or all the Christmas movies on TV? Let’s agree that it’s a combination of all these things that make this season so joyful. For those of us who can’t have the perfect white Christmas (you know, because it doesn’t snow in Pune), watching these beautiful stories on screen where the festival brings out the best in people (and the weather) to bring on the Yuletide spirit. 

Pricilla Mani, 42 year-old teacher, rings in the season with her favourite film What A Wonderful Life. The popular Christmas film which released in 1946 has been a mandatory watch in most households who are excited about the festival during this time of the year. “I grew up watching the movie with my parents and grandparents. When I was a kid, I wouldn’t like the movie as much because I wanted to watch something new and my parents wanted to watch this film. I lost my parents a few years ago, so watching the film reminds me of all the times I watched it with them. Even if the film started with us arguing over it, it always ended with us feeling warm and fuzzy, and grateful for having each other as family,” says Mani, who keeps up the tradition of watching the film with her two teenage daughters. Talking about her takeaway from the film, she says, “It taught me that no matter how much we feel that things will never work out, no matter what a mess our lives might be in, things have a way of working out. We have to believe in it, we have to look at the bigger picture.”

Allan Pereira, 28-year-old IT professional, says that his favourite Christmas film is Jingle All The Way. This hilarious holiday special features Arnold Schwarzenegger doing whatever it takes to get his hands on a Turbo-Man action figure as a Christmas gift for his son. “I remember watching the film with my family at home on TV when I was about seven or eight years old. My father’s younger brother was visiting us that year, he is my favourite uncle. He loves comedy movies and Arnold Schwarzenegger. We had so much fun watching the film together. It was that year that he got me a toy robot for Christmas and it blew my mind. I named the robot Turbo-Man,” says Pereira. While the film has many funny memories attached to it, it also teaches audiences valuable life-lessons wrapped in a chuckle. “The movie is about Christmas yes, but it is also about a father-son relationship. My father is my hero, just like Schwarzenegger ends up as his son’s hero in the film. He did whatever it took to make sure I had the best education, a full stomach and a cosy home. Now that I’m working, I realise that money can be tight sometimes, but he never let us know that when we were growing up. When I have a child, I’m going to be a dad like that,” he says. 

Sharon Dey, 34 year-old make up artist, loves the Home Alone series. “Why do I like the Home Alone? Because of the adorable Macaulay Culkin — need I say more?” she laughs. “I too come from a big family. I have two brothers and two sisters, and I am the youngest. Everyone is settled in different cities now, and we all lead very different lives, but we come together for Christmas once every two-three years and it’s a total mess. Though we all have kids of our own now, when we get together, there’s a lot of bickering, fighting, yelling and confusion. But like the movie, in the end, we all come together, we cherish each other as family,” she says.