If you’re looking for a festive movie to stream, there’s no shortage of new holiday features coming out all the time. But if you find yourself clicking on familiar titles year after year, you’re in good company and psychologists say there’s a good reason for that.
"Holiday movies tap into tradition... triggering nostalgia for 'the good old days' when things seemed simpler, kinder and slower," explains Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center. "The human brain is funny. It tends to remember happy events with a bit of fairy dust, amplifying the glow and heightening our enjoyment of positive memories.”
So watching the same old Christmas movies every year becomes a tradition of its own. These beloved classics make us feel good and help relieve some of the stress that comes with the holidays. A new poll from Yahoo/YouGov reveals the most rewatched holiday movies. And while it doesn’t settle the debate on whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie or not, it does earn a spot in the top 10.
The Most Rewatched Holiday Movies
- “Home Alone” (34%)
- “A Christmas Story” (33%)
- “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (32%)
- “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (29%)
- “Elf” (26%)
- “Christmas Vacation” (25%)
- “It's a Wonderful Life” (24%)
- “The Santa Clause” (24%)
- “Miracle on 34th Street” (21%)
- “Die Hard” (14%)
Plus check out this fun compilation of classic scenes from holiday movies:
photo: Getty Images Source: Newser