It’s always nice to see an old classic. While I have seen “The Nightmare Before Christmas” a couple times before, like most movies or media, I always seem to find a new reading, analysis, or detail I missed the last time. On this viewing, I reflected on the importance of tradition and history in establishing cultural values and norms in western society. Both holidays of Halloween and Christmas carry with them festivity, celebration, and the importance of being a good person (for fear of getting a trick in the former or a lump of coal in the latter). Yet, what the movie does so well is combine conflicting themes and values of each holiday into one mesh, showing the mess that results. It is interesting to think about the very different messages and origins which both these holidays carry and the importance given to perhaps otherwise arbitrary dates.