Angela’s Christmas (not rated)
It’s the Christmas season in Limerick, Ireland, circa 1914, and 6-year-old Angela is headed off to a Christmas Eve Mass with her family. But once she and her family arrive in the frigid sanctuary, she sees a life-size Nativity scene inside — and a nearly naked baby Jesus. Poor baby Jesus, she thinks to herself. And so, it being the Christmas season and all, she decides to take the wooden Christ child home with her to warm Him up. This funny and surprisingly touching tale isn’t truly spiritual (though when a couple of elderly parishioners hear a hidden Angela sneeze, they swear that the Nativity Jesus caught a miraculous cold). But it does something that few other Christmas specials do: Point to the holiday’s holy origin. And it’s truly heartwarming and entertaining to boot.
+© Brown Bag Films