Okay, hear me out. Don't start cussing yet, please. I know how you feel, trust me, I do. The movie has at least 20 murders, people smoking cigarettes like it is cool, I used to think that is stupid as well. But allow me to convince you just like I was convinced.
Now the stable of any Christmas movie is pretty simple. According to screencraft.org, you need to have these seven things to qualify as a great Christmas movie. So let's go through them one by one. I am going to explain how Die Hard has all those that line it up with the greatest Christmas movies, but also another factor that just makes it better, which the rest don't have. First, we start with:
Magic
Movies like Miracle of the 34th Street, The Polar Express, and The Santa Clause have that. They all end in a miracle, Die Hard is no different. John McClane had the odds stuck against him. He is facing a mob that has planned everything. Everyone is a professional, and only one man to stop them, it is magic that he survives all that. Almost, you could say it was....... A Christmas Miracle
Family
John McClane goes into this movie having an estranged wife. A family that is drifting apart. However, they both realize how important they are to each other during the movie as they face death. They realize how much they love each other. They end up together again and stronger than ever. I mean look at this picture.
If this picture doesn't say romance, I don't know what does. Who wouldn't love to be bloody in the cold with their significant other? Okay, I may have some issues, but the point still stands. And to top it off in "It Is A Good Day To Die Hard". He connects with his son to kill and blow up people
Now isn't that nice?
Atmosphere
Die Hard has 21 Christmas-related objects to it, trees, snow, people saying "Merry Christmas" with a smile, and of course
"NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN HO HO HO" written in blood. That's the true spirit of Christmas.
Holiday Tropes and Cliches
I hope you haven't forgotten about this already
Christmas Tropes and Cliches are scattered all across the movie. First, everything we mentioned in the "Atmosphere" section. Second, the career-focused father. And they also tie into each other with family, and magic at the end of the episode. Die Hard has it all.
Hope
Die Hard ends with the McClanes reconciling, which gives us hope that their marriage will be fixed now that they realize how important they are to each other. John also saves the day and New York City. Another terrorist attack failed with the least amount of possible casualties and deaths of the innocent. A hopeful message that the city could stand its ground in the future.
Redemption
As we established before, John McClane was a job-obsessed father and husband. He always seemed to put his family second after the job, however, and near the end. John makes up for all that by showing his wife that he is willing to go through fire for her and redeems himself in her eyes. Something about seeing a man wearing a bloody tank top screamed I love you to his wife.
Nostalgia
The entire movie is nostalgia now. Die Hard happened way before Bruce Willis started his chain of shitty movies. Stop if you heard of any of these movies: Airstrike, 10 Minutes Gone, The Prince, Acts Of Violence, Hard Kill, Precious Cargo, Cosmic Sin, Vice, The Cold Light Of Day. Any of them ring a bell? Exactly. Bruce Willis has now done more bad movies than good, and more horrible movies than both. He just took any movie offer with a paycheck. I mean how desperate must you be to do a movie with Tracy Morgan?
Die Hard is nostalgic in that it reminds us of a beautiful era where Bruce Willis knew how to pick a fucking movie!
That Concludes screencraft.org's 7 Elements
With those elements, Die Hard makes for a good Christmas movie, one about family, hope, redemption, and everything that makes a great Christmas movie. However, unlike the other Christmas movies, Die Hard offers something unique to it and more important that sits atop of the list.
The New Christmas Discussion
Christmas can be stressful, be it with family or friends. All the questions and all the discussions. What Die Hard does is that it lefts the intensity of a Christmas discussion. In a time where politics, social issues, opinions on Covid-19 lockdowns, and restrictions, everyone is intense where they discuss this over a dinner table. And Christmas is a time for family conversations, but we live in a time where important conversations are causing family members to hate and be estranged from one another when talking about anything relevant that everyone knows about.
Die Hard remains a conversation that is relevant enough during Christmas time, but not intense to cause fights and estrangement. People might decide to lose a person because of their opinion on BLM, LGBT+, student debts, the elections, but who'd want to lose a person because of their opinion of Die Hard, plus it is a great movie, so talking about it is great as well.