I want to take a look at four Christmas classics and define what is the message they are sending out at this time of the year. Specifically, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and The Little Drummer Boy. Each of them had an impression on me in childhood but what is the message relating to Christmas?
The Little Drummer Boy is not shown much anymore. The story of a little boy who loses his parents in a fire, the only joy he has in life is playing his drum. He happens to be present at the arrival of the Magi who bring the gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense. The Little Drummer Boy wants to present a gift too. All he has is his music, which he proceeds to play (rumpaparum). The message is it is not the size of the gift it is the heart and it is presented in a biblical manner.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas also relates to gift-giving, albeit in a much more secular context. The Dr. Seuss character decides the Whos in Whoville are entirely too joyful on Christmas Day. He believes it is due to the toys, the food, and the music. His devious plot is to steal all these things and thus steal Christmas. Lo, to his surprise the Whos greet the day not with tears but with joy. It is then that the Grinch realizes Christmas is not a matter of things but love. Amazing how in the world of 2011 this cartoon is still shown.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is actually prophetic. It was politically correct 35 years before there was such a thing. All the people who don't fit in have a place at the table. Rudolph, Herbie, Yukon, and even the Abominable are just misunderstood or different. We won't even go into the Island of Misfit Toys! But is there a message related to Christmas here?
Finally, we have A Charlie Brown Christmas. At first glance, this might seem similar to Rudolph in its emphasis on the other, but it is actually the most Christian of them all. It is an attack on materialism and aluminum Christmas trees. It is also the only one that directly references Scripture with the story of the Shepherds and the Angels.
People today may gripe that Christmas has lost its meaning, but that is nothing new. The four animated features discussed above are all more than forty years old. It has been a long time coming.
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