Why Do Halloween And Xmas Go So Well Together?

Here is yet another fluff piece for the readers of this blog. There is a reason for this – I have something extra special to be posted next week. But, since I can’t post it early (i.e. it’s not ready yet), here we are. And to distract from the fact that I put so much planning into next week’s blog post and virtually no planning into this week’s… Please accept this gift of festive cat pictures as I attempt to answer a very important question:

Why do Halloween and Christmas (as well as all other holidays this time of year) go so well together?

Old Man Max makes the best Santa Cat. He’s even got the belly for it – all he’s missing is a beard.

There’s no shortage of horror movies and spooky movies that take place during what is arguably the most festive time of year. So what makes this combination so good? Why are there so many scary Christmas movies?

Is it because the contrast of bright lights, peace on earth, and family bonding time goes really well with blood, gore, and scares? People expect a certain kind of warm and fuzzy feeling from this time of year, so it makes sense that the holiday season would be a good way to lure audiences into a false sense of security before horrifying them. Its like complimentary colours – Christmas and Halloween may be opposites, but they bring out the best in one another.

The real horror here is that Minerva is being forced to wear this ridiculous hat. Goodbye dignity,

Is it because both Halloween and Christmas are the two holidays that involve more decorating and opportunities for dress up than any other holidays? You certainly don’t see people wearing ugly Easter sweaters, or decorating their homes with Valentine’s lights. The more you think about it, Halloween and Christmas have a lot in common.

Is it because people gather together, making them easy targets for movie monsters? A recurring theme in horror films is the lengths people will go to in order to protect their families and loved ones. Since the December holidays are a time for coming together, that makes for the perfect set up for this theme. Nothing makes you appreciate your loved ones quite like a near death (or actual death) experience.

Even Orla couldn’t help but get into the Xmas spirit. But, as a black cat, she was always Team Halloween.

Is it because of Charles Dickens? A Christmas Carol is such a widely known story, written long before movies even came to be, and it features ghosts and spookiness at Christmas time. Maybe our collective imagination has simply been primed to accept the use of horror themes and tropes in the telling of Christmas stories.

Based on all of this, and the fact that I have an annual spooky movie marathon but not an annual Xmas movie marathon, you would be safe to assume that I am not a Hallmark Christmas movie kind of gal. I have a few favourite films that I watch this time of year, although Mark is mainly in charge of our festive watch-list (I probably seem like a bit of a Grinch compared to him). And I think that’s why I like Christmas horror movies – I get my fix of December festivities, but in a way that is more appealing to me. I certainly plan on adding spooky picks to my festive watch-list this month.