# Is "Die Hard" a Christmas Movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 2, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283 "2013-12-02T14:48:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/522 "2023-12-23T16:25:37Z")
Just as he did in [2020 when interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/316). This matter has long been put to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2023, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/523 "2023-12-23T19:21:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I voted no in 2013, yea in 2018, and I will continue to be on the yes side in 2023. I didn’t realize until reading your post this year was the tenth anniversary of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/524 "2023-12-24T19:44:48Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I didn’t realize until reading your post this year was the tenth anniversary of this thread. [[Album] Oh no ... ![](https://i.imgur.com/rnkpEg8.jpeg?fb "Oh no ...") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/IXnCq3J) ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/525 "2023-12-25T16:56:00Z")
I’d say not really. The fact that the events of Die Hard takes place on Christmas Eve is incidental: The movie would play out the same if the holiday was Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, or The Fourth of July. Very few elements of Christmas other than ornamentation and decoration factor into the plot. If you argue Die Hard is a Christmas Movie, then I argue “It’s a Wonderful Life” is Science Fiction, since a major plot device is crossing over into an Alternate Reality/Parallel Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/526 "2023-12-25T17:04:34Z")
OK, I have no problem with you arguing that. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/527 "2023-12-25T17:27:51Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > “It’s a Wonderful Life” is Science Fiction, since a major plot device is crossing over into an Alternate Reality/Parallel Universe I’d say that it’s more like fantasy, since it makes no claim that the crossing-over has any scientific explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/528 "2023-12-25T17:32:27Z")
Hmm, did anyone get my point that Carroll originally told the story to the Liddell sisters while traveling down the river near Oxford on the Fourth of July in 1862. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/529 "2023-12-25T18:47:26Z")
“It’s Halloween, Theo. It’s the time of miracles.” ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/530 "2023-12-25T22:37:48Z")
Would there be an office party for those holidays? The events only happen because the office building is deserted except for the office party. The exceptional thieves have a small group to control and cover their escape. The out of town policeman altered the plan. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/531 "2023-12-25T23:21:13Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Hmm, did anyone get my point that Carroll originally told the story to the Liddell sisters while traveling down the river near Oxford on the Fourth of July in 1862. Unless the _Alice_ books take place on the 4th of July (and I’ve read 'em twenty times, so I would be surprised to learn they did. Surprised, indeed!) this analogy does not hold up. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/532 "2023-12-25T23:29:32Z")
I think the books have as much to do with the Fourth of July as _Die Hard_ has to do with Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/533 "2023-12-26T14:44:31Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Would there be an office party for those holidays? LA during the 80s? The chance for the “beautiful people” to consume alcohol and hit on each other? They’d throw a party commemorating the invention of moth balls! ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/534 "2024-12-01T07:48:51Z")
Tis the season to bring this thread back for some holiday cheer. “Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/535 "2024-12-01T09:08:17Z")
Tonight’s double feature, _ **Die Hard** _ and _ **Trading Places** _. Merry New Year! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/536 "2024-12-01T16:19:06Z")
Eleven years later, and still not. Now I’ll go watch the movie about the true meaning of Christmas, Lethal Weapon. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/537 "2024-12-01T17:15:59Z")
Of course it’s a Christmas movie. That’s why we have a [Hans Gruber Falling from the Nakatomi Tower Advent Calendar.](https://www.amazon.com/UKMPFGJ-Christmas-calendar-Countdown-Decorations/dp/B0CJR8517Y/ref=asc_df_B0CJR8517Y?mcid=763eb0cc21153332a7e623f7fd980148&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693129581909&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14486984462100616697&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9190246&hvtargid=pla-2366706550689&th=1) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/538 "2024-12-01T19:28:05Z")
😮I guess I’m the only one who thinks it’s not a Christmas movie. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/539 "2024-12-01T19:50:22Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who thinks it’s not a Christmas movie. hello? Is this thing on? > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Eleven years later, and still not. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/540 "2024-12-01T20:20:40Z")
I’m glad not to be the only one. It takes place at Christmas, that doesn’t mean it’s about Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/541 "2024-12-01T21:00:10Z")
**It’s a Christmas movie.** Always has been. Christmas time, Christmas theme. Director, screenwriters, actors (except BW who’s out of it); all agreed it a Christmas movie. **There. Settled.** Go back to arguing about UFOs, Flat Earth, and Dan (not D. B.) Cooper. j/k not being mean ps It’s always in the rotation with Reindeer Games and Violent Night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=28)