Last year, there were 116 new Christmas holiday movies released on TV and streaming streaming services in the US. I have watched very few of them, but enough to say with confidence that the majority - were average.

Yesterday, filling in on Jack Tame’s show, Chris Schulz spoke about a new Lindsay Lohan film on Netflix. It’s called Our Little Secret, and it’s currently the 2nd most watched film on Netflix in NZ, so you may have seen it.

It’s a perfect example of the holiday film you can expect at this time of year, throwing together a heap of holiday film tropes and hoping for the best - all in the name of Christmas entertainment.  

So when and why did Christmas and holiday movies become all about romance? When did they become all about cute meets? About career women finally meeting ‘the one’ in quirky circumstances; cueing a series of misunderstandings to be rectified in a predictable third act? These films have become less about family, and more to do with having a date to meet the family.  

The first Christmas film was released in 1898. It was made in the UK and is 2 minutes long - you can watch it online. It shows children being put to bed, and Santa coming down the chimney and leaving them toys. Apart from the fact Santa brought a Christmas tree with him, little has changed with this traditional Christmas story. 

Throughout the years Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has become one of the most adapted books and inspiration for Christmas films - over 38 have been based on this novella from 1843.  

Christmas movies also used to be about Jesus or stories from the bible, but as we’ve become more secular, they’ve become films to search out rather than dominating streaming services.  

It turns out though that Christmas films have included romance since the late 1930s. Bachelor Mother, The Shop Around the Corner and Holiday Inn are all  films made between 1939 and 1942, with romance at their heart. But after Love Actually in 2003, Christmas viewing changed forever and the romantic comedy has become a staple. Four Christmases, The Holiday, and The Family Stone were predictable, but well cast and remain firm favourites today.  

So why has Christmas become so much about coupleness? It is OK to be single at Christmas. But the answer is simply because the audience decided it’s what they want.  

After a long stressful year (topped off by preparing for the holidays) a lot of us are up for some easy, enjoyable and improbable escapism - with a happy ending.  

We’ve earned it. 

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