Honestly, you blink once, and you're somehow already in December!
With Christmas Day just a few weeks away now, I'm sure many of us are frantically sorting our holiday shopping, figuring out what we'll make for our festive feasts and, of course, cosying up to our favourite Xmas flicks.
Now, you've got your rom-com favourites like Love Actually and The Holiday, along with your family go-to's like Home Alone and The Grinch, as well as your cult-classics like It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol - but there's also another genre of film we all seemingly love to whack on during the countdown to the big day.
Well, it's not so much a genre as it is an entire franchise spanning over a decade. Yep, it's none other than a full-on movie marathon of all eight Harry Potter films.
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However, Potterheads have since found themselves in a pretty heated debate over the 'reason' why the nostalgic films feel so 'Christmassy' - despite them not technically being Christmas films.
Starting off the discourse, one Reddit user posted: "Just had an argument with someone over whether or not Harry Potter is a Christmas movie or not. Couldn’t really explain why other than that there is a 'Christmas scene' and 'Christmas vibes'. Why does Harry Potter have Christmas vibes though??"
A second Redditor theorised: "There’s something very cosy about them and they’re obviously magical films, so fit for the most magical time of the year!"
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"I wouldn't call them Christmas movies, but I do like to watch them every Christmas!" confessed a second.
A third declared: "Oh, I got this: The reason many folks associate Harry Potter with Christmas is due to release dates. When the books started, they rolled out between Thanksgiving and Christmas - then when the movies started they did the same thing."
"The first couple of movies were released in November - did you perhaps see them in theatres for a Christmas gathering? That's why they've always felt like Christmas to me," shared a fourth.
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I mean, this theory does have legs given that a lot of the films did hit cinemas in the autumn months in the run-up to Crimbo.
A fifth outlined: "They're not technically Christmas movies. The plots don't centre around Christmas (like Polar Express, for example,) nor do any of the films occur mostly on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (like Die Hard). Yes, almost all of the films have Christmas scenes in them, but they probably take up less than 10% of the movie.
"As others mentioned, the vibes are probably from the snowy winter exterior shots/John Williams score, combined with the presence of at least 1 Christmas scene in almost every film. Then the holiday marathons on TV really reinforce it."
Another penned: "10% Christmas per movie is like 80% Christmas over the course of the movies. Good enough for me."
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And a final Redditor resolved: "Technically not Christmas movies because the theme doesn’t centre on or around Christmas.
"That being said, Christmas means something different to everyone and everyone has their own traditions, so if something makes you feel those holiday vibes, then it can be that for you specifically."
Topics: Harry Potter, Christmas, Holiday, TV And Film, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle