20 non-traditional Christmas movies to watch this year

2. The Namesake

Watch if: You take pride in your family’s history.

What it’s about: Newlyweds Ashoke (Irrfan Khan) and Ashima Ganguli (Tabu) immigrate to the U.S. from India. They build a life for themselves in the States and raise their two children there. Gogol (Kal Penn), Ashoke and Ashima’s son, feels torn between the traditions of India and the American culture he grew up in.

Connection to Christmas: Small, but very important to the story. Ashima finds out her husband has died around the holidays. A scene or two before she does, she is making gorgeous Christmas cards and signing them with her name as well as Ashoke and their children’s.

Why it makes for good holiday entertainment: This might come as a shock, but Christmas is a pretty big deal in Western culture. Some might even describe it as inescapable. As part of Ashoke and Ashima’s American assimilation, they celebrate Christmas with their children, even though none of them partake in Christianity itself. In fact, the couple takes a “when in Rome” attitude towards Christmas and U.S. customs in general.

As such, The Namesake — based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel — is a good film to watch if you’re not anti-Christmas, but aren’t extremely into it, either. Like Ashoke and Ashima, you don’t necessarily look forward to the holidays but you have to admit that the pine trees and cards sure can be pretty. Also, like Ashima and her sequined, elephant-emblazoned Christmas cards, you enjoy the holiday most when you take traditions of yore and put your own, individual spin on them.