The debate over whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie is among the most-discussed topics in Hollywood pop culture. Every holiday season, the perennial question—'Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?'—comes back into the fray, with audiences finding themselves divided into the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps. Those who do not agree with it being a Christmas film claim that the festival is barely a tangential element in the plot and not a central part of its story. According to them, Die Hard does not belong on the list of traditional Christmas films, such as It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, A Christmas Carol, Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, Love Actually and so forth. There is some merit to their argument. Die Hard’s plot does not weave in Christmas as an element in the same way the aforementioned films do. Its release date is also way before Christmas, which according to the ‘No’ camp participants is a major disqualifier. However, those in the ‘Yes’ camp highlight the hard facts, such as it being set on Christmas Eve, the multiple pieces of music reminiscent of the festival in the film, and it being one of the most-watched Christmas films of all time. There is merit to this argument as well. After all, one of the elements of the film is about Willis’ character, Detective John McClane, wanting to complete his rescue mission and go back home to celebrate Christmas with his wife Holly.

To help answer the question, or rather reinforce your notions about it, it is worth looking at what the people behind the film themselves said about it. Interestingly, they themselves do not want to settle the discourse about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie once and for all. Its leading star once quipped, “It is not a Christmas movie,” but rather “a Bruce Willis movie.” Then again, many fans view this as Willis simply leaning into his 'tough guy' persona. 

On the other hand, director John McTiernan once offered a much more nuanced take on the perennial Hollywood debate in his video explainer through the American Film Institute. McTiernan said that while he never meant it as a Christmas film, it eventually turned out to be one due to the sheer joy that comes out of watching it. McTiernan intended it as a “stern” actioner about “leftist terrorists” and “authoritarianism”. Interestingly, McTiernan drew a direct parallel between Die Hard and the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. He specifically referenced the Pottersville sequence—the dark, alternative reality where James Stewart’s George Bailey does not exist—as a criticism of "runaway unregulated capitalism." He saw his film as a similar story about a "real human being" standing up against a "valhalla of capitalism". Then again, the director also said that it is up to the audience to decide on whether or not the film is a quintessential Christmas movie. It is interesting that Die Hard 2 is also set on Christmas Eve and has holiday elements, but the debate has always been about the first part.

Speaking about the debate, writer Steven E de Souza once called it a Christmas film and backed his argument by referring to multiple Christmas-related elements (its character named Holly, the miraculous vault opening, etc). The writer once tried to settle the debate once and for all by saying that it is not just a Christmas film but a Chanukah movie. Speaking of which, what is a Chanukah movie? Well, this is a topic for another debate, maybe another year. Until next time, Yippee-ki-yay, oops… Merry Christmas.