Dreaming of a Not So White Christmas- The Gap in Christmas- Diverse Christmas Movies and Books written by the Elf . This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Dreaming of a More Realistic Christmas
We really enjoy Christmas. And I’m not saying that you cannot enjoy a classic Christmas movie for what it is, or even a newer one for what it is. Also, before jumping down our throats- yes. I do still do a lot of consuming of Christmas culture, and benefit from it in some cases. But I am throwing up a flag and questioning WHY there is such a gender and ethnic diversity gap in Christmas. Christmas is a very, very, white American consumerist holiday. It doesn’t have to be that way. We gain a lot from diversifying, and children of all genders and ethnicities gain the most. All children should be able to see themselves reflected in this holiday. Especially since it takes over most everything in the US for the month of December; it’s everywhereeeee.
The Gender Gap in Christmas
I was largely unaware of the depth of this issue until becoming a mom. Throughout the Christmas season, moms lose childcare but are expected to do a LOT more both at work and at home. They also traditionally carry most of the mental load of all the events. And the story of Jesus’ birth is women centric. So WHY is Ms. Clause relegated to a sometimes sidekick who just feeds the big guy? Where are the Jesusy Christmas books about the Biblical women in the story? Or the girl reindeer? Even in the extremely oversaturated market of children’s literature, you don’t find a lot of books featuring girls. And if they do, a lot of times they are reinforcing patriarchal stereotypes.
The Ethnicity Gap in Christmas
Again, I was largely unaware of how deep this was until I parented children who were not white. One week into December and the mom’s message boards were lighting up about all the Black santa photo slots being full already. And it’s beyond frustrating that the place this is the most obvious is in the portrayals of Jesus. Who was most certainly Middle Eastern and not a white baby. Yet instead of being at the forefront of being welcoming and inclusive, the American evangelical church once again lags behind. How many kids will leave Sunday school in the next two weeks with a cheap nativity craft (probably unethically sourced and made) that features a super white Jesus, Joseph, and Mary?
So many of the decorations and portrayals are white. And what’s worse to me, are the religious children’s books that boast ethnic diversity, or a Middle Eastern Jesus, on the cover but on the inside Jesus gets whiter as the story goes on. And while there have been vast improvements in diversity (shout out to Hallmark who finally has Black and Asian lead characters in some of their movies) it’s not enough for every kid to see themselves represented, which is really sad and unacceptable.
Let’s Talk About What Featuring Means
When I am talking about a book or movie that is featuring diversity, I mean more than fifty percent. For example; The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe does not feature girls in my opinion. There are 2 girls and 2 boys in the main sibling set. 1 female villain and 1 male hero. While the boys definitely get more screen and page time in this story, it’s mostly fairly divided not girl centric. It’s not a diverse movie if there is one Black actress and she plays the best friend. So when I say featuring diverse, I mean that more than half of the main, title, characters are diverse in some way. This list will focus on the ethnicity gap in Christmas.
Christmas Movies Featuring Ethnic Diversity:
With how intense the Christmas movie market is now, you would think that this list would be easier to make. And you would be wrong. There are not enough ethnically diverse Christmas movies. Much less that are family friendly and not just Hallmark. (again- nothing against Hallmark movies. They are grand in their own way. But I don’t want to watch rom coms with my nieces, nephews, and grandparents.)
–Jingle Jangle: This is a fantastic Christmas musical. Stream it on Netflix and check out our full review here.
–Christmas in the Clouds: A fun comedy featuring many Native American actors and plots. You can rent it here!
–The Star: One of our personal favorites, this movie tells the story of Jesus’ birth from the perspective of a donkey with a great, diverse case. Check out our review here and you can rent it here! (Why is this movie not more popular than it is?! If Christmas is really about the birth of Jesus, is there another kid friendly movie that does this outside of Veggie Tales?!)
–The Nutcracker of the Four Realms: (This one is more on the fence, it’s not as diverse as it could be.) A modern take on a classic! Check out our review here and you can rent it here! If you like this movie, you may also check out Hip Hop Nutcracker on Disney Plus!
–The Nativity Story: A movie based on the birth of Jesus starring Oscar Isaacs and Keisha Castle-Hughes. You can rent it here.
keep reading for TV Episodes and Books that address the ethnically diverse gap in Christmas
Christmas TV Episodes to Stream Featuring Ethnic Diversity:
–Dash and Lily: A great little series that crosses holidays! Check it out on Netflix!
–Black-ish: S1-E10 (“Black Santa/White Christmas”)
–Fresh Off the Boat S2- E10 (“The Real Santa”)
–The Chosen S1:E10 (“The Messengers). We preferred this special, but you could also check out The Chosen Christmas Special which is not nearly as diverse.
–Snowy Day: Based on the classic kids book, you can check it out here on Amazon!
Other Episodes for a Throwback
–Fresh Prince of Bel Air: S1-E15 (“Deck the Halls”)
–Family Matters: S2-E13 (“Have Yourself a Very Winslow Christmas”)
–Girlfriends: S4-E11 “Merry Ex-mas”
Christmas Kid Books Featuring Ethnic Diversity
The children’s publishing industry, especially the religious sector, depends on books being bought to determine what gets more advertising and more copies and is often a step behind on diversity. Young kids truly deserve to see themselves represented in their books.
–Grace at Christmas by Mary Hoffman and Cornelius VanWright
–May Your Life Be Deliciosa by Micahel Genhart
–Circle of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story by N. Scott Momaday
–Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl who Made Ballet History by Charlotte Nebres
–Ty’s Travels: Winter Wonderland by Kelly Starling Lyons
–Carla and the Christmas Cornbread by (renowned chef) Carla Hall
–Does Santa Look Like Me? by Ariel Young and Monika Wnek
–I Got the Christmas Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison
–The Noisy Night by Jill Roman Lord and Kelly Breemer (This is one of our favorites)
–A Very Noisy Christmas by Tim Thornborough and Jennifer Davinson
–The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie DePaola
Thanks for reading our Diverse Christmas Movies and Books post. Check out our other Christmas related posts:
-A Fun list of Christmas Books for Kids
*After publishing this we found a fantastic mini podcast series by Inter Varsity Press. The Disrupters Podcast season 3 episodes 40-44 with Jemar Tisby and Nancy Wang Yuen called Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas. Check it out here and Nancy’s book here.
What movies and books would you add to this list?
If this list was helpful to you, please take a second to shar it on social media.
Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and this Diverse Christmas Movies and Books post use affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All images used in this post were either original designs from Canva or used from media kits We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. Find our other reviews with discussion questions here. And our posts about family stuff here.