Why are Christmas movies all about kissing?

A working theory of Christmas rom-coms. vox.com/culture CULTURE   Why are Christmas movies all about romance? That’s the question Vox Culture senior editor Meredith Haggerty rightfully asks in her [piece about the persistence of the Christmas rom-com](. When you stop to think about it, it’s odd just how common the genre has become, and just how front-and-center the romance is: I recently watched The Family Stone for the first time while (finally) stringing lights on my Christmas tree, and its love story was so distractingly unhinged that I wound the string too tight and broke it. In the end, of course, the Christmas romance is a roundabout way of affirming the traditional value of having a good old-fashioned American family — but packaged in shiny heart-patterned wrapping paper. —Whizy Kim, senior reporter Editor's note: For ongoing coverage and analysis of the developing conflict between Israel and Hamas, [read our Vox colleagues' work here](. Why are Christmas movies all about kissing? A theory. [a still from a Christmas movie of a man putting an ice skate onto a woman's foot while she sits beside another woman]( Hallmark This year alone, 116 new holiday movies were released to TV and streaming. Conservatively, I’m going to estimate that 115 of them were romantic comedies. Starting with Destined 2: Christmas Once More, which premiered on Great American Family back in October, the season saw cinematic offerings with titles like How to Fall in Love by the Holidays and Christmas Holidate (not to be confused with Netflix’s 2020 film Holidate) and the impeccably named Never Been Chris’d. It’s time to stop and ask: When exactly did we decide that Christmas was the most romantic time of the year? [And more importantly, why?]( As a woman who lives in a big city, comes from a small town, and whose name could reasonably be shortened to “Merry,” Hallmark virtually promises that I should be meeting cute throughout the month of December. In reality, there’s arguably no less sexy time of year. I don’t know how you celebrate the holidays (or don’t), but my main event is a week of shopping for things no one needs, eating enormous quantities of everything, and sitting around the house with my parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. I see an exhausting number of people, but I am related to nearly all of them. Still, the prevailing genre of holiday film isn’t “family,” [it’s resolutely “kissing.” What’s going on?]( I have a theory. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The best Christmas rom-com is actually Batman Returns Tim Burton’s superhero classic is Christmas rom-com you don’t realize is a Christmas movie or a rom-com. [Read the full story »]( Missing the feeling of a white Christmas? That might be solastalgia. Finally, a term that explains the sadness of a whole season — and a way of life — melting before our eyes. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - [The year of Ozempic bodies and Barbie Botox]( - [What Timothée Chalamet’s Wonka has in common with Paddington Bear]( - [The very best books of 2023]( - [Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney’s chemistry can’t save Anyone But You]( - [In American Fiction, a Black writer who “doesn’t see race” pens a race novel]( - [So it’s come to this: We might have to worry about the deficit]( - [How to navigate a chronic illness](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.