Hello all! You may have noticed an interesting conversation brewing in the discussion thread for my recent re-post about Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” In explaining why I consider the song to be a valid piece of Christmas-themed art, I ended up articulating what Christmas means to me… what I consider to be the true spirit of the season.

Naturally, the works of Christmas-themed art that I find “valid” are the ones that somehow reflect what I consider to be the “true spirit” of the holiday.

So now I’m wondering… what is Christmas about for you? Which works of art reflect that spirit back to you? After the jump, I’ll post the comment I left in the “AIWFCIY” thread, which will explain my point of view. Then I’ll list a few more titles that embody that sentiment in some way.

Then I want to hear from you!

p.s. — If you don’t celebrate Christmas, but you have a similar passion for a different holiday, then please come at the discussion from that point of view. All are welcome!

My previous comment:

I think it’s absolutely valid for “All I Want for Christmas is You” to be considered an honest-to-god Christmas song. To me, it’s valid to declare that all you need to be happy during Christmas is the love of another person because to me, the purpose of Christmas is to take a moment to be incredibly grateful for the people you love.

That’s a large sentiment, and I see a piece of it reflected in this song. The giddy belief that your mate is all you need to be happy is certainly a legitimate element of the spirit that makes Christmas important to me.

Now, is that giddiness the only way to express the belief that Christmas is about giving thanks for loved ones? No. There are many ways a work of art can express the thanks that I consider to be the spirit of Christmas. There are certainly more moving ways to express that idea. There are more spiritual ways. There are more community-minded ways, and there are more serious ways, too. But at the end of the day, “All I Want for Christmas is You,” silly pop song that it is, still captures at least a small part of what Christmas means to me.

And is my take on what Christmas means the only take that’s valid? No. There are plenty of great ways to interpret the holiday. I mean, I also appreciate it as a reminder that we should be nice to strangers, look for the godliness in ourselves and others, and really think about gifts that other people want to receive. I just happen to put “thanksgiving” at the top of my personal list. But if somebody else wants to focus on five other things altogether, then good for them.

To that end, I’m interested to know what Christmas is about for you, and for all my readers. What are you looking to see reflected in a piece of Christmas-related art? What makes a work of Christmas art valid for you?

Other Christmas titles that fit my personal bill

* Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas

* A Christmas Carol

* Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas