Why are there so few good Christmas movies?

Though there are a few I can watch and enjoy--Christmas in Connecticut (the original, obviously), Desk Set (a sort-of Christmas movie, and the only one of the wretched Hepburn/Tracy films in which she doesn't have to learn to be submissive to the man)--there are only a few Christmas movies I really, really like: the Alistair Sims version of A Christmas Carol, of course, Miracle on 34th Street, Meet Me in St. Louis (which isn't really a Christmas movie), The Man Who Came to Dinner, and my new favorite, Love, Actually.

I suppose it's difficult to make a film about Christmas that isn't cloying and offensive or overtly religious. When I look at the list above, I am am struck by the fact that, with the exception of the sumblimely silly Love, Actually, all of the films were made a long time ago by directors who knew how to weave holiday themes through great stories, or how to turn already great stories or plays into great films. Such directors exist today, but they do not touch Christmas.

For those of you who would like a red Christmas, the Encore Channel is presenting "A Very Quentin Christmas" on December 25.