Generosity and hospitality in Christmas Story

This short subject discusses what might be understood as Santa Claus’ essence, which is the logic of and limits to his overarching generosity, as depicted in the film Christmas Story (Wuolijoki, 2007). The plot centres on the orphan Nikolas, who grew up to be Santa Claus. Young Nikolas moves to a new home every Christmas Day, and every Christmas he crafts presents for the children of the family he has left. Thus, at the core of the film lies an interesting vision of the relationship between hospitality and generosity, which is the film’s greatest merit. For many theorists hospitality and generosity are self-contradictory notions, which is why they need to be rethought every time they are put into practice. The article examines the relationship between the two concepts as it emerges from close analysis of Christmas Story.