Grief & healing: Navigating nostalgia and Christmas

Ho ho ho. Here it is, almost Christmas Day. My Christmas turkey is almost ready to go in the oven. I must make (or order) a feast, whether I’ll be just by myself or having a big group come for dinner.

Has anyone noticed that all of December there have been many “made for TV” Christmas love story films on the movie channels?

The main themes have been:

1. A young woman meets a royal prince charming from abroad who just happens to be looking for love instead of a traditional arranged marriage.

2. Two childhood friends meet by accident or in their old hometown and fall in love.

3. Two business colleagues, who are rivals, fall in love and join forces for some good cause.

In these movies everything is nostalgic — warm family gatherings, beautiful holiday decorations, Christmas carols, delicious food — all perfect.

I’ve watched a lot of them. They are a bit on the syrupy side but are engaging with happy endings.

So I started wondering — what is all this about. Why all this nostalgia?

Then I remembered something I heard on a recent late-night show. The host was musing over the trend in TV shows these days. He said something like TV used to be “The Newlywed Game” and “The Love Boat” and “Gilligan’s Island,” but now it’s about “Survival” and “Naked and Afraid” and “The Bachelor.”

As I thought about all this, I started to understand why all these Christmas old-fashioned love-story movies may have been running on TV.

I’m pretty sure it’s a counterbalance to the “Survivor” ethos. And people would like to watch something uplifting. It’s probably the same reason why many watch old movies such as “It’s a Wonderful Life” at this time of year.

So the point is: Probably a little romantic “do good” nostalgia is welcomed by many this holiday season, and certainly on Christmas Day. Next comes New Year’s, so it’s a good time to reflect and make our resolutions. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

• Susan Anderson-Khleif of Sleepy Hollow has a doctorate in family sociology from Harvard, taught at Wellesley College and is a retired Motorola executive. Contact her at sakhleif@aol.com.