Why Aren’t Black Christmas Movies Considered Classics for Everyone? Exploring the Cultural Divide in Holiday Film Favorites

Growing up, December in the Mills Household was a festive time. Each year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my family would drive to our nearest plant nursery to pick out our live Christmas tree. The tree had to be perfect – not too tall and, indeed, not too short. The pines needed to be distributed evenly throughout the tree, and the tree’s point needed to be just long enough to be the perfect home for the star topper.

With the smell of fresh pines and “The Temptations Christmas Card” playing in the background, we would decorate the tree with ornaments collected throughout my and my siblings’ childhood. This holiday routine set the tone for the Christmas music, movies, and events to follow for the next month – a routine that also included watching at least one Christmas movie every night. From “It’s a Wonderful Life” to “Home Alone,” we kept all the classics in rotation. For me, these movies feel like home. They take me back to a time of innocence and happiness that I hope to replicate with my children.

After reflecting on my favorite Christmas movies, I realized that those I consider classics may not be regarded as classics for non-Black audiences. So why aren’t the Christmas Classics that Black audiences hold near to their hearts considered classics for all Christmas movie fans? Why are Black Christmas movies often absent from the mainstream conversation about holiday classics? 

Mainstream Christmas classics are overwhelmingly centered around white characters and cultural experiences. The Christmas aesthetic that has become synonymous with Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies often reflects whiteness as a default. Mountain towns, ski culture, and narratives of a carefree lifestyle aren’t depictions we traditionally see when Black stories are being told. In recent years, however, viewers have seen more Black Christmas films that subscribe to these elements. Despite the adaptation of the winning Christmas movie formula, Christmas films featuring Black casts are still left out of the mainstream “classic” conversations.

Black-centered holiday films like “This Christmas,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” and “Almost Christmas” include the elements of love, family, and community, similar to the rom-com holiday films on Hallmark, but they also connect with viewers in a way that’s culturally specific and unique to the Black shared experience. These movies are cultural pillars in the Black community, offer a sense of familiarity, and reflect our family dynamics, which are often ignored.

So, what makes a film a classic? Is it critical acclaim? Box office success? Awards? Cultural reach? Becoming a part of family traditions? Many of these metrics don’t account for these movies' impact on the Black community. They don’t account for the systemic barriers Black films often encounter to get projects greenlighted, let alone the funding and studio support to market and promote the movie. Black films are usually relegated to being considered a niche market, limiting their opportunity to be exposed to and revered by wider audiences.

Black stories are constantly marginalized and diminished from mainstream acknowledgment. When whiteness is centered in the Christmas classic narrative, Black audiences are being told that their stories and traditions are insignificant and not worth celebrating. Holiday films should continue evolving to reflect all experiences' nuances, elevating Black representation and cultural experiences during this significant season. Who knows? Maybe one day a Black holiday movie will be considered a classic by everyone, not just Black audiences.