Is This The Best Christmas Movie Ever?
In "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," a misfit family finds hope in the Nativity story.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” just might be The Best Christmas Movie Ever.
I’m sure that sounds like hyperbole. But let me give you one caveat: It may be The Best Christmas Movie Ever that is centered around Christian themes.
There are many fun “Christmas” movies that have nothing to do with Jesus — who is “the reason for the season.”
Those include the 2003 film “Elf” (hard to believe that is more than 20 years old), “The Polar Express” (also 20 years old), “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (original version, of course), “Miracle on 34th Street,” and the 1964 stop-motion animated TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which was a favorite of mine when I was a child.
Almost all of the most popular Christmas movies have a secular Santa Claus as a main character. (Go to the end of the article to see some of the best Christmas movies with Christian themes).
But Santa isn’t in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Zero appearances. And that’s refreshing.
Instead, the focus is on an average, church-going American family that participates in their church’s annual Christmas pageant. And it’s about how they interact with the Herdmans — six rough-and-tumble siblings living on the margins of the community.
Everyone in the town hates the Herdmans and is scared of them — and for good reason, at least on the surface. They steal, they bully, they set things on fire.
The leader of the Herdman gang is Imogene (played brilliantly by Beatrice Schneider), a 13-ish-year-old girl who is looking for acceptance in a world that doesn’t value her or her family. They and their single mother (whom we never see) are ostracized by the community.
The Herdmans aren’t church-goers, but the hungry kids decide to attend one Sunday after hearing that there are snacks. That’s when they first hear about the pageant.
One day at school, Imogene announces to two of the popular girls who have key roles in the Christmas pageant: “We’re going to be in your Bible play.”
And they are in the play, although many members of the community do their best to keep them out.
The movie, based on the 1972 children’s novel by Barbara Robinson, is directed by Dallas Jenkins, the creator of the blockbuster series “The Chosen,” the historical drama series that portrays the life of Jesus through the perspectives of his apostles and others who encountered him.
There’s a lot of comedy in the movie. I laughed out loud several times. It’s also poignant and deeply touching. I choked back tears more than once.
Here are some of the themes I saw in the movie:
Desire for transformation
One of my favorite scenes is in the school library, where the Herdmans pore over books on Jesus’ birth as they prepare for their parts in the play.
When asked why they should be in the play, Imogene inspires her siblings by saying: “We get to be someone else. Live a different life. Become someone new.”
We also often see Imogene staring at a painting in the church of Mary with baby Jesus. She is driven to play Mary in the pageant because she views her as “sweet and pretty” — the opposite of how Imogene perceives herself.
The True Meaning of Christmas (and Christianity)
The movie emphasizes the spiritual significance of Christmas, stripping away the superficial trappings and focusing on the humility, love and hope in the Nativity story.
At one point, the narrator of the story, Beth, who is the daughter of the pageant’s director, tries to convince her mother that removing the Herdmans from the pageant would be best for all involved.
The mother lovingly responds:
“Jesus was born for the Herdmans just as much as he was born for us. We’d be missing the whole point of the story if we turn them away.”
Judgment and Prejudice
It challenges preconceived notions about people, showing how initial judgments of the Herdmans as “bad kids” are replaced with understanding and compassion.
We judge most people based on superficial encounters with them. But our judgments change — and we frequently become more compassionate and loving toward those people — when we get to know them at a deeper level.
This is why I’ve become an evangelist for one-on-one conversations and for meeting in small groups to struggle with others over important things in life. Those in-person meetings are transformative on many levels.
The Great Commission
Jesus tells us in Matthew 28 to “make disciples of all nations.” In other words, spread the story of God’s love — through Christ — to all. We Americans often think of missionaries traveling to all parts of the world to spread the Gospel.
But “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” reminds us that tens of million of Americans don’t know the Gospel.
When Imogene decides she’s going to be in the pageant, she doesn’t know anything about the story. At one point she confusedly asks, “Who’s Mary?”
Redemption and Grace
The movie highlights how even the most troublesome individuals, like the Herdmans, can be transformed by experiencing love and kindness from a church community — and the message of Christ’s birth.
Best Christian Christmas movies
So what are the best “Christian Christmas” movies? Here’s a short list of ones I have enjoyed.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The central message of the 1965 TV show is that Christmas is not about commercialism, gifts or decorations, but about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
This message is conveyed powerfully through Linus's recitation of Luke 2:8-14, where the angel announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds.
The story about how Peanuts creator Charles Schulz had to fight to keep Linus’ recitation in the show is legendary.
CBS executives believed the scene would bore viewers and wanted it cut. They didn’t want “religion” in the show. Schulz insisted that the true meaning of Christmas should be conveyed, stating, "If we don’t do it, who will?"
It’s a Wonderful Life
There are lots of Christian themes in this great movie:
George Bailey consistently puts others before himself, reflecting Christ-like humility and sacrificial love.
He turns to God in prayer and faith at his lowest moments.
There’s the divine intervention and guidance from Clarence, George’s guardian angel.
There’s redemption and grace as George journeys from despair to understanding his true worth.
And the movie emphasizes the impact one person can have on others, aligning with the Christian belief in the inherent value and purpose of each individual life.
"It’s a Wonderful Life," directed by Frank Capra and released in 1946, initially received mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment, failing to recoup its production costs. It wasn't until the film entered the public domain (and TV stations could use for free) in the 1970s that it became a beloved Christmas classic.
The Bishop’s Wife
Anne and I discovered this 1947 movie just last year. Basic plot: An angel helps a bishop with his problems.
The Bishop’s closing two-minute sermon, "An Empty Stocking," is used even today in some churches for its moving text:
“Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.
“Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts.
“But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we’re celebrating. Don’t let us ever forget that.
“Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.”
