"Die Hard is a Christmas movie" is the Christmas meme that won't die

Modern Relics is a periodic newsletter about religion and popular culture and how all that happens on the internet. The vibe is like...

Welcome to the Christmas 2024 edition of the newsletter. This is just a quick one but I've been keeping some of these posts nice and safe for the last 12 months! Enjoy, and Merry Christmas. Please share this with your friends and family, and if you aren't signed up to the list, please do!

"Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Fight me" goes back longer than you think

Loved this skeet from historian Evan (@evansmithhist.bsky.social)‬ looking for the earliest reference to the claim that Die Hard, the 1988 action blockbuster starring Bruce Willis, is a Christmas movie because it happens to be set during Christmas.

Here he's found a reference from The Times in the UK from 2007, but it suggests it's already a widespread idea. This is one of those perennial things I've encountered online longer than I can remember, to the point now where people post about it ironically, or complain how people earnestly post about how Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Like, "Okay, we get it."

But the ridicule hasn't dampened the annual tradition. A quick search right now for "Die Hard" on Bluesky reveals dozens of people completely unironically posting about how Die Hard is their favourite Christmas movie. They absolutely cannot get enough of Die Hard at Christmas. And if you don't agree, you are welcome to fight. Posting "Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Fight me" every year, verbatim, is something you either love to do, or hate to see.

Anyway, buried in Evan's mentions is this interesting reply from Daryl (@drleeworthy.bsky.social)‬ pointing to an advertisement that appeared in the Dunstable Gazette in 1996, pondering if Die Hard – set during Christmas but not about Christmas – could be a Christmas movie.

Obviously there is more work to be done here, but I'm on holidays and don't want a research project right now. But a detailed history of "Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Fight me" would make a great feature article.

St Nicholas, the necromancer

Jinx Monsoon and Ben de la Creme's secular Christmas spectacular

Let us be Gay. Decide to be Very Gay

I think I may have posted this video before

Honestly this looks pretty incredible and I'd smuggle my gay ass in to see it for myself. I did love this quote response though.

No words

This post has 1.1K likes but not everyone is a fan.

Okay that's all for this year I reckon! I'll try and come back in the new year with a post that clears the decks of everything I haven't used yet in my links list from 2024. But until then, I hope you have a great end to your year! Bye!