Favorite Festive Flicks

By David Garcia

Every year during the holidays, Mathiew Foley and his family watch 'National Lampoon''s Christmas Vacation.' When he was younger, they would gather at his grandmother''s house and watch a copy they recorded from television. The remote control for his grandmother''s VCR was connected with a cord to the VCR.

'We''d fight over who got to hold the remote control to fast forward through the commercials,' said Foley, 21, a junior from Franklin, N.H., 'because you got to sit in the big chair, the only one close enough.'

For many families, watching movies has become an important part of Christmas traditions. Some have favorite movies they always watch, while others have traditions about when or where they share a movie with the family.

'Every Christmas, I will always watch ''Garfield''s Christmas'' and ''Charlie Brown''s Christmas'' back-to-back,' said Jordan Feinauer, 24, a senior from South Jordan. 'It makes me feel like a little kid getting ready for Christmas again.'

For Springville resident Linda Hutchings and her family, watching 'Little Women' prepares them for Christmas. They watch it every year, usually on Dec. 1.

'It puts us in the mood for Christmas for some reason,' said Hutchings'' daughter, Melissa Young, also of Springville. Even though 'Little Women' isn''t usually thought of as a Christmas movie, its Christmas scenes and the tradition make it a Christmas movie for this family.

For Natasha Jasper, 20, a sophomore from Anchorage, Alaska, her family''s tradition doesn''t revolve around seeing any particular movie, but around watching a movie first thing on Christmas Day. They stay up late on Christmas Eve and sleep in on Christmas Day, and then her aunt and uncle take her whole family to the movie theater as a present. The children spend part of the days leading up to Christmas discussing what movie to see.

'We always go with what my mom wants, but we pretend that what we want matters,' Jasper said. 'You just have to talk her into seeing whatever movie you want to watch.'

During the holidays, BYU professor of mechanical engineering Robert Todd and his family visit the family''s cabin. While there, their movies of choice are home videos. They even have a digitized copy of a film of his father from 1907.

Some movies have transcended individual family traditions to become part of the mainstream way people think about the holidays. In an informal survey of 217 people at BYU, 50 picked 'It''s a Wonderful Life' as their favorite Christmas movie. The second most popular answer was 'A Christmas Story,' with 37 votes.

'I''d rather watch ''It''s a Wonderful Life'' with a date,' said D.J. Savage, a freshman from Lovell, Wyo. 'But I''d rather watch ''A Christmas Story'' if I''m home alone.'

For Heather Johnson, 20, a history teaching major from Houston, Texas, the message of 'It''s a Wonderful Life' and the fact that it''s always on television makes it an important part of her holidays.

'Christmas isn''t the same without ''It''s a Wonderful Life,''' Johnson said. 'It''s such a tradition. Since there''s less and less to hold on to in this world, we have to hold on to our traditions.'

The top-of-the list favorite Christmas movie on the BYU campus, 'It''s a Wonderful Life,' will be shown on reel Friday, (Dec. 8, 2006) at 7 p.m. in the HBLL auditorium. 'A Christmas Story' will air on Turner Classic Movies on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m., and 'Elf' will be broadcast locally on KUTV, channel 2, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 16.