Review

Christmas culture

Culture

Film & TV

24 December 2024

6 min read

The twelve days of Christmas TV

What to watch across the festive season.

Yaroslav Walker

Yaroslav is Vicar of Christ Church, Hampstead.

At a Christmas party, friend smile, laugh, and collapse in a heap on a sofa.

This is occurin'.

Christmas approaches! We are soon to begin the twelve-day marathon of celebrating the birth of Christ through food, drink, and…collapsing in front of the telly! It is a season of great joy and gladness, but also one of physical and mental exhaustion. To make it all a little easier I have finely combed through the Christmas edition of the Radio Times to present to you the one can’t miss televisual offering for each of the twelve days. Consider this my gift to all the readers of Seen & Unseen; hopefully a little more practical than a partridge in a pear tree.

On the first day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Gavin & Stacey: The Finale

Christmas Day, BBC 1, 9pm

The first G&S Christmas Special is an annual tradition in my household. My wife and I are guaranteed to watch it at least once in the run-up to Christmas. It is an example of a truly perfect piece of television: masterfully combining the necessarily contrived and mawkish sentimentality of Christmas telly, and the absurdist/realist/deadpan comedy that endeared the series to so many. The comeback Christmas Special in 2019 was a let-down on the night (I had such high expectations) but has grown on me over the years: nowhere near as good as the original, too self-referential and mannered for its own good, but still darn-funny, and acting as a rather sweet meditation on aging and parenthood. Christmas Day is all about family – be it our own family, or the Holy Family of Bethlehem – so why not see the day out in the warm glow of the Shipman-West family.

On the second day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Zulu

Boxing Day, Channel 4, 3.50pm

This one is personal for me. This is one of the first films I remember watching with my father, around the Christmas season. Glorious cinematography, a pacey plot, an electrifying final set-piece (which, 60 years later, is still more engaging than most of the bigger budget CGI shlock you can see today), a smattering of Welsh patriotism, and Michael Caine doing a posh accent. This is a classic for a reason: the remarkable story of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift combined with a searing and sympathetic exploration of the British class system, ending with a meditation on both the unifying and horrifying nature of war. If you’re suffering from over-indulgence on Boxing Day I can’t think of a better tonic.

On the third day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Pitch Perfect

27 December, ITV 2, 9pm

The sequels very much delivered diminishing returns, but the original is such a wholesome piece of film-making. A celebration of music, growing-up, sisterhood and girl-power…it is feel-good fare from beginning to end. Anna Kendrick shines with raw singing-star-power, while Rebel Wilson provides just the right amount of comic relief. After the high of Christmas Day, and the slow come-down of Boxing Day, this film is like a warm bath of feel-good aca-enjoyment.

On the fourth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Maggie Smith at the BBC

28 December, BBC 2, 7pm

A celebration of the career of Maggie Smith on what would have been her 90th birthday. If that precis doesn’t hook you, then we can’t be friends.

On the fifth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

The Fugitive

29 December, Channel 5, 4.35pm

I can’t think of many thrillers better than this. From the very first scene this film has you on the edge of your seat asking the most terrifying of existential questions…

WHY DOES HARRISON FORD HAVE A BEARD!?!?!?

The tension only ratchets up from there! Harrison Ford plays the character he was born to play: a slightly gruff man, down on his luck, full of ingenuity, trying to prove that he didn’t murder his wife. Tommy Lee-Jones is similarly expertly cast as the long-suffering law-man who doesn’t follow procedure…no, he feels the case in his bones! The film rips along as such a rollicking pace that you’ll feel like it’s just started by the time it has finished.

On the sixth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Rocketman

30 December, Channel 4, 9pm

The music of Elton John is indestructible.

On the seventh day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Jools’ Annual Hootenanny

New Year’s Eve, BBC 2, 11.30pm

By now this is has become a cross between a National Treasure and a National Institution, and I cannot comprehend people who see the New Year in with anything else on their telly.

On the eighth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Airplane!

New Year’s Day, ITV 4, 9pm

This is the funniest film ever made. That is an indisputable fact, whether your metric is quantity or quality. The jokes come at a machine-gun rattle, and every single one hits their target! Absurdism, slapstick, wordplay, and the straight-face of Leslie Nielsen…THE FUNNIEST FILM EVER MADE!

On the ninth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

2 January, BBC 2, 10pm

Russel Crowe deserved to have this film be the start of a worldwide phenomenal franchise; especially as Patrick O'Brian left us with twenty novels to work from. Crowe embodies Captain Jack Aubrey perfectly – oaken and noble and solid. Teaming him up with Paul Bettany for the second time is a masterstroke, as they bicker and play-off each other like old friends. There is action, emotion, intrigue, drama, and naval tactics. What isn’t to like?

On the tenth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

The Silence of the Lambs

3 January, ITV 1, 10.45pm

Anthony Hopkins serves us up plenty of leftover Christmas ham with his performance. His Hannibal Lecter is intelligent, sophisticated…and essentially and pantomime villain. His Hannibal is hammy with a capital H! Please don’t misunderstand me, I enjoy the performance and the film, but it isn’t a patch on Brian Cox’s bone-chillingly subtle, understated performance in Manhunter. Anyway, this is a terrifying film in the best way possible. Putting Hopkins aside, the performances are all spot on: Jodie Foster gives us an ingénue who’s vulnerability is both a weakness and her greatest strength, and Ted Levine is indescribably creepy as serial-killer Buffalo Bill. After ten days of Christmas lulling you into a soporific stupor, this flick is the icy wake-up you need!

On the eleventh day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

The Graduate/Rain Man

4 January, BBC 4, 9pm/11.20pm

Early-career Dustin Hoffman or mid-career Dustin Hoffman: take your pick. The is no wrong answer.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my telly gave to me…

Aliens

5 January, ITV 4, 9pm

The rarest of creatures: a sequel which surpasses the original. Sigourney Weaver is iconic, and is the prototype for all future female action heroes. James Cameron takes Ridley Scott’s original claustrophobic horror masterpiece, and morphs it into a war-movie to rival ‘Saving Private Ryan’. It is a superb adrenaline-rush of a film. At the end of twelve days we can all echo Bill Paxton’s immortal words: Game over, man! Game over!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

BONUS GIFT…

Carols from King’s

Christmas Eve, BBC 2, 6pm

One of the finest examples of Anglican liturgy, perfectly combining atmosphere, music, and scripture. I’ve written a little article explaining why the service of Nine Lessons and Carols is a treasure we must not lose.

Read now

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Article

Christmas culture

Creed

Education

6 November 2025

3 min read

Shining bright: Religious Education can reflect the heart of Christmas

A new curriculum proposal offers hope for a subject long left in the shadows

Kathryn Wright

Kathryn is the chief executive of Culham St Gabriel's, an education charity

A classroom display of Christmas baubles under a banner.

The Butterfly Teacher

The Christmas season will soon be upon us, and Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The lives of those believers, and many of their neighbours, are filled with nativity plays, Christingle services, advent calendars and carol singing. The festival that celebrates Jesus, the baby who is born in a manger and welcomed by lowly shepherds, also heralds his later life. One in which he lifts the marginalised, brings divine justice and shines light into a dark, fragmented world.

This shining vision of justice and light cannot be confined to nativity scenes or carol services. It shapes how Christians see the world, including education.

In England, Religious Education (RE) is in urgent need of reform. The recent Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) recommendation that the subject goes into a new national curriculum through a staged process, offers a rare opportunity to restore RE to its rightful place for the benefit of every child. This will finally shine a light on this often-neglected subject.

Where darkness falls

Today, many pupils experience RE as fragmented, inconsistent, and undervalued. Some receive profound, in-depth teaching — getting more than a glimpse of the vision. Others receive none. Some encounter diverse religious and non-religious worldviews; others are taught narrow or outdated content. This disparity is not just an educational failure; it is a moral one.

At Christmas, Christians remember that Jesus came not for the powerful, but for the poor, the outsider, and the forgotten. Following Him means ensuring that every child — regardless of background or postcode — has access to high quality RE that reflects the complexity and richness of religion and belief in our global world.

Four dark shadows

There are four key areas of inequity:

Position: RE is often marginalised in schools as it is not in the national curriculum.

Provision: time and resources vary dramatically.

Standards: there is no consistent national benchmark.

Content: pupils struggle to see themselves and others reflected in the curriculum.

These issues disproportionately affect the most vulnerable - those in underfunded schools or transient communities. Christians are called to stand up for those who are overlooked. The Christmas story itself is a call to justice. Mary’s Song speaks of Jesus lifting the humble, whilst Zechariah’s prophecy highlights Jesus shining light on those in darkness and guiding people to a path of peace. Social justice is at the heart of the gospel message.

Lighting a way forward

The CAR recommendation that RE should be included in a new National Curriculum is a light amidst the darkness; it views the subject through a social justice lens. The proposed approach to establish consensus within the religious education community lights up a path for the subject going forward. Building on the National Content Standard for RE in England (2023) it offers a framework rooted in fairness, coherence, and depth. It would ensure:

Parity of position: RE is valued alongside other subjects.

Equity of provision: all pupils receive meaningful religious education

Consistency of standards: expectations are clear and fair across all schools.

Richness of content: pupils explore diverse, lived experiences of religious and non-religious worldviews.

This is not just about curriculum design. It is about enabling young people: to become free thinking; to become critical participants of public discourse in unsettled times; to make academically informed, compassionate and respectful judgements about matters of religion and belief. It is about nurturing wisdom, encouraging young people to flourish, and bringing light to dark places.

Shining in the darkness

Christmas is a season of hope and light. It is also about challenge. It is a reminder that God intervenes to restore and renew, and Christians are called to do the same. The recent recommendation to government is, I believe, a once is a life-time opportunity for everyone to come together for the common good; to shape an RE curriculum for all where every child is seen, heard, and valued.

As we sing of peace on earth and goodwill to all, let us work to ensure that our education system upholds justice and serves everyone, whether we are a Christian or not. This Christmas, may we commit ourselves to a vision of education that reflects the heart of God: one of equity, dignity, and love. Surely it is time for the RE light to shine in every classroom across our country.

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