5 Favorite Christmas Movies and the Hope of Renewal and Redemption

As we approach the end of another jarring year, we come to two traditional holidays spaced just one week apart—Christmas and New Year’s. One is sacred and one is secular, but they have in common one very important theme: renewal, a fresh start, the hope that life will look brighter going forward.

One staple of the Christmas season is the wide range of movies about Christmas that are televised every year. There are movies for every taste, ranging from cartoons about Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, the Peanuts gang, etc. for kids (including grown-up kids) to feel-good sentimental Christmas season movies churned out by the Hallmark Channel. My personal preference is for heart-warming stories that dramatize the phenomena of renewal and redemption. The possibility of renewal can appeal to people of all faiths and no faith; the gift of redemption is explicitly part of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but it has universal potential.

Let me share with you my five favorite Christmas movies. If you haven’t seen them before, I encourage you to retreat from the hustle and bustle of your life to refresh yourself with some of these messages of hope and grace.

1. ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ (1947)

2. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)

3. ‘Home Alone’ (1990)

4. ‘A Christmas Carol’

5. ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’ (1980)

Continue Reading On The Epoch Times >>>