Big truck's comin' up through here.
Ah, it'd be a mess of potholes come spring.
Yeah.
Is someone new moving into town?
Haven't heard anything yet.
I just want more hay.
You what?
I want more hay.
Oh, who's this?
Look at this.
Whoa!
Well, well, well, if it isn't the Reed brothers.
I've been lookin' for you boys.
Do my eyes deceive me?
You know, I heard you were mayor,
but it turns out you're the handyman.
Funny, you can't trust a rumor mill, can you?
Mitch Bright.
Well, when you're the mayor of a small town,
you got to wear a lot of different hats.
You buildin' a new edition?
You're funny.
We're buildin' a platform for the town Christmas display.
You might remember it, huh?
I don't know, we just figured after five decades,
the mother of God deserved a proper place to kneel.
It's only right.
All the statues and everything? Yeah, right.
I remember that.
So how you guys doin'?
Good. Wow.
How long has it been?
I'm thinkin'
What brings you to town, Mitch? some hotshot attorney--
Oh, he's loaded now.
Who struck it rich.
Yeah, I've made some good investments, you know,
but I miss the old town.
Thought maybe I'd come back and check out the old place,
you know, see some of my old friends.
Hey, how's Kristen doing?
Here it comes.
She's good.
Our kids are good too. mean anything by it.
I--you know, I was just bein' polite.
Look, we're not in high school anymore, Dan.
Look, I got to run.
I've got a big moving van with all my stuff in it,
gonna take a look at the old house.
I'm sure I'll be seein' you boys around though.
Oh, yes, you will.
All right.
Moving van?
Isn't exactly a home for the holidays.
Hey, you want me to follow him?
Pretty good, huh?
Not bad.
Not a winning time, but--
Want me to time you?
No, I don't want to hold you up.
I can wait.
I'm just takin' it easy today.
Christmas Cup is coming up.
You entering? Of course.
Me too. Good luck.
I'm gonna be the angel!
You already are an angel.
In the Christmas program, Dad.
That means I get lines.
Wow, lines.
All the other kids just have to sing,
but I get to say stuff too, and wear a costume.
Oh, I am so glad you're home.
Can you help set the table?
I have people who do that for me.
What happened?
What do you mean?
You onlyjoke about your lack of actual power
when you've had a run-in at work.
Is that true?
Hmm, well, nothing happened.
Okay.
Mitch Bright stopped by town today.
High school Mitch Bright?
Mm-hmm.
Is he the rich guy?
When I was waiting for you at school,
all the other teachers were talking about it.
Somebody saw him in a big moving van.
I thought you were supposed to be
your mother's teacher assistant?
She won't let me grade the papers.
Ooh.
So he had a big moving van?
Mm-hmm.
Hey, where's Cody?
Cody, dinner's ready!
He says he's home for the holidays.
Yeah, but his family hasn't been here in years.
Yeah, I know.
Seems highly suspect.
Well, you think we should invite him for dinner?
Oh, no, I don't think we can feed him in the manner to which
he has become accustomed.
Oh, come on.
Yes, you do.
Cody! Oh, hi honey, sorry.
Okay.
All right.
Hey, what's wrong with you?
All the girls are reading these vampire books.
I don't get it.
He wants the girls to be in love with him instead.
Okay, all right.
Listen, your mom read all those books.
I know exactly how you feel.
Mmm, can we please find something to thank God for?
Yes. I get to be the angel.
It's gonna be the best Christmas ever.
That was fast.
Thanks for lettin' me drive.
Yeah.
That's the last time.
So who's that guy you were talking about last night?
Mitch Bright.
Just a guy from back in the day.
We didn't get along too well unfortunately.
You had a high school rival?
Yeah, why?
What's so unusual about that?
Just seems like everybody likes you.
You need to go to some city council meetings.
So what did you guys compete over?
Oh, everything.
Football, basketball, skiing, running, class offices,
parking spaces...mom.
Mom?
I won that one.
Really?
Your mom was the girl in high school.
Still is.
Now you're lucky if you made it this far without a rival,
without someone to push you and try to beat you
at what you're good at.
I didn't say that.
Really?
Somebody's givin' you trouble?
My situation's a lot different than yours.
Yours seems a lot easier.
Of course.
Of course yours is worse.
How is yours worse?
Mine's a girl.
Okay.
Morning.
Good mornin'.
Can I get a cafe Americano with soy, please?
Sure.
Hey, now Josie, how's business?
I can't complain.
Customers are loyal.
What do you think it would take to make it better?
More customers, I guess.
Exactly.
You know, I have some ideas on how I think
I can make that happen.
You interested?
Sure.
Good.
Man, Christmas is an awesome time of year,
am I right?
Hey, Santa.
No, really. I mean, think about it,
this is the only time of year
the entire world has this like shared experience of peace
and hope for the future and strangers are lovin' each other.
And there's that somethin' in the air, man, it's something.
What is wrong with you?
It's been a great week, man.
Are you kiddin' me?
We had two ice fishermen and the snow machine tool.
Kristen invited Mitch to our Christmas party Sunday night.
She said it was the Christian thing to do.
Man, why does Kristen always have to be right?
Yeah.
I know he's got an angle.
Now why would he come back here after so many years?
What's he after?
I don't know.
Maybe he's just weary of his city life
and he wants to return to the simple town of his youth.
Or he's still mad at ya after all the times you beat him
in high school.
And so after festering for 20 years,
he's returned to exact his revenge.
Yeah, you know, could you back to singing?
Because you're a lot less annoying.
Thanks for the help.
Well, it's getting late.
You know I wasn't arguing about your policies.
It's--well, it's more your approach.
I don't know what you mean.
I think the mistake that you're making is assuming
that you're every man.
I find your ideals to be wildly conservative compared
to the rest of the country.
This is comin' from the guy that went to Berkeley
and lived in San Francisco for 1 0 years,
'cause when I think every man, I think San Francisco.
When's the last time you left Alaska?
I don't know, Mitch.
I've been so busy buildin' bomb shelters
and publishing conspiracy papers
that I haven't had time to get out.
Look, just 'cause we're the 49th state doesn't make us
a third world.
Look, there is a surprising amount of hocus-pocus here.
Oh, you mean--what, Native religion?
No, I mean Christianity.
Well, it seems I recall you competing with Dan
for president of the youth group back in the day.
Well, there isn't much I wouldn't compete with Dan about,
So, that was an act?
No, not an act.
Look, ifyou had an opportunity to travel the world as I have,
you would know that American culture is not limited
to this small town bubble that you live in.
America is vast and diverse and loving, peaceful, tolerant.
Yeah, no, I'm just-- I'm trying to understand
what you're implying.
I would be willing to wager that a majority of the people
in this town find your religious piety annoying.
Annoying?
Yes.
And they reelect me because?
Well, you ran unopposed in the last two elections, Dan.
Because he's doing such a good job.
Yes.
I'm sure he is in a very small town way.
I don't agree with you, Mitch.
Just because God's out ofvogue in the big city doesn't mean
we throw him away like last summer's fashion magazine.
Maybe you wouldn't.
Maybe a lot of your close friends
that were here tonight wouldn't.
But I guess there's no way to prove it, is there?
You know, maybe I would make a good mayor someday.
You might.
Yeah, I kinda like that.
Mayor Mitch Bright. Has a ring to it.
Good night!
Good night.
Hey!
Hey, sweetie.
Can I come in?
Yeah!
I didn't know if you're closed or...
The second time in today.
I'm unforgettable.
Coffee, black?
Yup.
Unless you got another color.
No, that's it.
Okay, I'll take it.
I was thinkin' about Christmas.
Yeah, they have it every year.
Yeah, but this year Makayla is the angel.
Aww, she'll be such a doll.
Anyway...
You ought to come.
Yeah.
I mean, I'll be there.
I know the angel.
So maybe she could magically make a chair appear next to me.
Yeah, I'll probably come.
Well...Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you.
See ya.
I don't know.
I just thought the algebra was, you know, always tricky.
Yeah.
Mornin', Mayor.
Your son's gettin' faster every day.
That's what I like to hear.
How you doin', Coach?
Good, good. thanks to you.
I hope this town keeps re-electing you
as long you'll have us.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
So, how are plans goin' for the Christmas Cup race?
We have got a great turnout and I--are you gonna enter?
Yeah, maybe so.
I'm not in my son's age group, so he can't show me up.
I've been there.
I understand that. See you later.
Hey, Dad, can we go?
I'll be late for school.
Oh, yeah, school, sure.
Dan, got a minute?
Yeah.
I got my mayor's hat on all day today.
What's up?
Have you already started the new paint
for the nativity statues?
Mmm, yeah, they should be ready any time now.
We can put 'em up this weekend, I think.
Actually, we can't.
A formal complaint has been filed about the town
Christmas decorations.
A complaint about Christmas?
It says that because the town is spending money
on Christian imagery being placed
on government property,
we're in violation of the establishment clause.
The complaint seeks a preliminary injunction
preventing us from finishing the display until the judge
rules on the complaint.
Who filed this complaint? The Grinch?
Mitch Bright.
What's your assessment?
Does he have a case?
Potentially.
These decorations have been part of the town tradition
for over 50 years.
We've never had a problem before. a complaint before.
When's the ruling?
In 20 days.
Unless you want to find a compromise before then.
No, I don't want to compromise.
We should bring before the city council, Dan.
They need to know.
Okay, so you're telling me Mitch Bright comes back here
after 20 years, and he's bringin' his tolerance
and he's bringin' his open mindedness,
like they do, right?
And the first thing he does is get a load of our nativity scene
that we've had for 50 years and he's like, "Oh, gee,
"we got to sue somebody because, you know,
"what if some child innocently gets a glimpse
"ofthe baby Jesus?
"And hey, if we get rid of all these Merry Christmas speakers,
"I'll tell you what we should do next.
"Why stop there?
"Let's go after those, I don't know, people that say,
"'God bless you' after you sneeze.
"Why not?
"Because what if I'm an atheist, and it's like, hey,
I want to get sick without divine intervention, right?"
Well, let me tell you something brother,
see, 'cause we're Christians.
Christians happen to have started
the United States of America.
And if they think that they're gonna take this without a fight
with the Reed brothers, they are wrong and they better
get prepared and they better put a helmet on,
'cause it's my country too.
Yeah, you took that better than I thought you would.
Hi, folks!
Looks like our 1 o'clock flight tour's here.
Hey!
Well good to have you! Harland, they made it!
All right, okay.
Hey, jump in!
Harland, set up 'em up, will you,
in the back ifyou don't mind?
How are we gonna put a stop to this guy?
We're gonna handle this like we do any other civil suit.
Have a meeting, have a discussion, take a vote,
like always.
It's gonna be that easy?
Calm and orderly.
Let's go.
The platform was your idea, Dan.
You got us into this.
We voted unanimously to spend the money on it.
We voted.
So did we do something wrong or didn't we?
It's gonna cost a pile of money to fight this case
and come spring, we're gonna need to fill
a whole bunch of new pot holes.
And we need to spend more money on snow removal.
We went cheap on the rock salt this year.
That's true. I know.
You know, Mitch Bright has a lot of money,
and he could take this all the way
to the Supreme Court.
And that kind of case could bankrupt the town.
Okay, look, can we back up from the Supreme Court?
Willa has the legal under control.
It's not gonna cost us anything.
It's wastin' her time.
So do we need to take down the banner outside? further decoration, so no.
Yeah, no, we're not taking down the banner.
We could replace it with something.
It's old anyway.
Whoa, so now we just replace anything that's old?
Look, it's old because it's a town tradition
I assume you all have enjoyed all these years as an indication
of Christmas, right?
I sold a baby Jesus out of it once when I was a kid.
Got coal in my stockin' that year, too, as I recall.
My mother wasn't fond of practical jokes.
Look, Mitch Bright has a personal vendetta against me.
He has since we were teenagers.
I mean, you all know that.
It's just--he's tryin' to prove a point.
He wants to irritate me, and it's childish, all right?
And I'm not--no, we are not gonna cave in.
If this is personal between you and him, work it out.
Don't drag the whole town into it.
Okay fine, that's fair. I understand.
Mitch Bright actually has some good ideas
that I really think have some merits.
Like what kind of good ideas?
Some business ideas, and I think we should listen to him.
I don't think we should just push him out.
We were headed for the best Christmas season yet,
and we don't need some big hub-bub to quelch
a holiday cheer.
And holiday spending.
Well, you have my word.
I will have a little chat with Mitch.
Do you wait for me to come to the trails?
I'm just training.
Same as you.
So, you're dad's not here?
No, he's busy.
Do want to ski together?
You mean race?
If you want.
No, it's what you want because you have
some weird thing about wanting to beat me.
You're best skier on the school's team.
Of course I want to beat you.
That's how I get better.
You think I'm the best?
Never mind.
There are cruise ships passing our harbor every day.
All we need to do is come up with a way to make 'em stop.
We have a glacier right at our doorstep,
yet there's only one company that offers excursions.
Reed's Alaska Adventures.
Well, good morning, Dan.
We were just talkin' about ways to bring you more business.
I want to talk to you about your court filings.
Maybe you could drop by my office when you're done here.
Well actually, Dan,
this is my office, it's my meeting.
So why don't you pull up a chair?
Do you really care about city hall decorations?
Or is this about me?
You really think that highly of yourself?
I don't think you really have a problem with Christmas.
Oh, you'd be wrong about that.
Really?
Because I do have a problem with Christmas,
as I do with Jesus and God and all the rest ofthe garbage
you Christians have been jammin' down my throat
since I was a kid.
You think you have all the answers
and all the virtues of the world, don't you?
See, I think you're no different than anybody else.
As a matter of fact, you're probably even worse.
You so-called Christians who are celebrating the birth
of their savior are the same people cussing me
over a parking spot at the mall.
Why?
Because Jesus is coming, so we better rush on down
to get ourselves a good deal on a flat screen TV
before they run out.
That's not Christmas.
Christmas or not, I find that most of you followers
are the most unforgiving, unloving,
even bigoted people I've ever seen.
If we're already done on name calling,
this conversation is over.
No, you know what?
I'm sorry.
All right, I'm sorry that you've had such bad experiences
with Christians, but that doesn't mean that you can ruin
Christmas for everybody else here.
I'm still the mayor.
I'm not gonna let you hold this town hostage.
And as the mayor, you are bound to follow
the letter of the law, my friend.
Trust me, I'm an expert on this.
You cannot preach your religion, Dan.
Yeah, but I'm still a citizen.
And as a citizen, I have a first amendment right to express
my own beliefs.
But you do not have the right to spend the taxpayer's money
to propagate them.
The only money I've spent is to take better care
of town property.
Town property, which establishes a religion,
which is unconstitutional.
Congress shall pass no law
respecting the establishment of religion.
Or prohibits the free exercise thereof.
Bravo.
You don't have a monopoly on the law or this town.
You don't have the right to tell people how to live
and how to worship. with me, fine.
You want to run for mayor of this town, try to change it?
You go ahead and try it.
Is that a dare, Dan?
'Cause you sound scared.
You're already campaigning.
You don't think it's obvious why you come down from the hill
in your fancy little shoes
and try to pander to the common people
who you think might follow your ideas?
I think you got it all wrong.
I think it's quite apparent why I'm here every morning.
Free wireless.
You want a fight?
You got one.
Joe!
What are you doin'?
Who told you to do this?
We've got the full support of the city council, Dan.
Besides, we needed a new one anyway.
And there's nothin' wrong with being more inclusive.
Season's greetings?
Yeah.
It works for everybody.
Happy winter, Joe.
Merry snow falling day,
but don't put that on a sign, you might offend somebody.
Hey, what's goin' on?
Nothin', just thinkin'.
Thinkin' about what?
My life.
Could I have done more?
Done more about what?
Had a--you know, a job, a real job.
Honey, you have two real jobs.
Mitch is getting to you.
Nah, he's just bringing up some old stuff.
Well, if it means you would have ended up like him,
then the answer's a big, fat no on all the above.
Yeah, but would I have ended up like him if I'd gone out
and seen the world?
You mean, would you have become rich and glamorous?
Ohh, so you think he's rich and glamorous?
He's rich and glamorous and miserable and alone.
I just wonder if I would have lost my faith.
Oh, sweetheart.
I don't think you could ever lose something
that's such an important part of who you are.
Hey, guys.
Hey.
Hey, coach.
So, what's the genius up to now?
He says he can bring in the owner of the cruise line
and make Trapper Falls a regular excursion stop.
What do you think, Mayor?
I think it's all talk until somebody actually shows up.
It wouldn't hurt your business though, would it?
We'll see.
Here we go.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Thank you.
Happy holidays.
What? Greg.
Thank you, Josie.
I'm pretty happy.
You are too, aren't you?
You happy?
Here we go.
Hey, anybody not happy?
I mean, it's, "Happy Holidays," right?
Not, "Unhappy Holidays."
But I got to say, there's really only one holiday that makes me
happy in December.
What could it be?
Any suggestions?
Boxing Day, right?
Make you happy?
Not me 'cause I don't know what it's for.
Oh, let me see, we got Pearl Harbor Day.
Doesn't get more uplifting than, you know,
getting attacked by an enemy and goin' into war, right?
But that isn't it.
I think it's Christmas. Christmas!
Christmas is the only holiday in December that makes me
wanna get up and shout from the rooftops
and celebrate it.
It makes me happy.
I believe in Christmas, and I especially believe in the one
that Christmas is named after.
So I'm gonna tell you something, you don't be afraid to say
exactly what you believe 'cause I know what it is, Josie.
You stand for what you believe.
I think we need to say exactly what it is,
and so if you're gonna spend a little time celebratin'
all the holidays, don't forget the most miraculous,
holy day there ever was.
So here's to you, Trapper Falls.
I got a special gift.
Listen, Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Mitch.
Sound familiar?
Ahh, hat felt good.
We wonder why you're not married. What?
You're a heck of a catch.
One, two.
One, two!
I'm okay. Keep going.
It's your best time ever.
You're hurt. I am not.
Ski then.
Hey, Monica, I'm lookin' for that form--
Hey, Mitch.
What could we do for you today?
I'm good.
Just brushing up on my Trapper Falls election process.
Decided to officially throw my hat in the ring today.
Oh, by the way, tell your brother I said thanks a lot
for the outburst out at the coffee shop this morning.
Got me a ton of signatures on my petition.
So...
So if there isn't anything else, I'm gonna wrangle up some more
signatures and pick up some more campaign buttons.
That Mary, she's a cutie, isn't she?
So, do you think he's got enough supporters to win?
I heard he's got two million signatures.
There are only 4,000 people in town.
So do you think he really wants to be mayor?
You know, it's possible that he's trying to divide
the whole town over this Christmas thing
just to see who's with me.
What are you going to do?
Come here.
I'm gonna do what I always do
and what I think you should do too.
And that is stand by what I believe in, okay?
'Kay.
Glory to God in the highest.
On earth, peace and good will to men.
Glory to God in the highest.
On earth, peace and good will to men.
Hark, the herald angels sing,
glory to the newborn king.
Peace on earth and mercy mild--
Hey kid, how are you, honey?
Is your daddy here tonight?
My Uncle Greg is with me.
Oh, your Uncle Greg should know that you're in breach
of the preliminary injunction.
You can't have a religious display on this site.
Are you saying I can't stay here and sing?
I'm sorry, sweetie.
No, you can't.
This is government property.
But I'm not government property.
That's right.
No, no, you're not, honey, but you need to come down now.
Yeah, she can't do this. You know that.
She has to come down.
You know, Mitch, as far as I know,
she's allowed to stand there and sing anything she wants to.
And if she wants to do it dressed like an angel,
there's really not a heck of a lot of you can do about it.
I don't know how you missed this one in lawyer school,
but what I understand, the first amendment
applies to Christians too.
Yeah, honey, come down now. Hey, I'm serious.
Hey, honey, please come down.
Get your hands off me!
Hey, back off!
Now you all saw that.
That was assault.
Are you serious?
Buddy, you're a bigger wuss now than you were in high school.
Thank you.
Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to--
Hello? Yeah, this is Mitch Bright.
Greg, what were you thinking?
It was my idea, Mom.
Yes, I just drove the getaway car.
Apparently not fast enough.
Dan! stand up for what we believe in.
I know, I was just hoping that maybe
you'd make it to 1 7 or 1 8
before I got a call from the police.
You know, I can tolerate snarky bumper stickers
and letters to the editor, but the fact is Mitch Bright
called the cops on a child.
We're lucky they let this thing drop.
They could've pressed for them to arrest Greg.
This fight has gone far enough.
We need a solution.
I'll call Willa, see if we can't get some folks together
to talk about it.
Well, count me in. I don't think so.
You and Gabriel here are grounded.
You can't ground me.
I'll go in your place to make sure nobodyjumps
up on any chairs or causes a disturbance.
Well, in cases similar to ours,
the rulings have gone to the plaintiff when the nativity
is the only element of the display.
But what are we supposed to do?
I mean, are we supposed to put up--you know,
we put up a menorah and then we put up the kwanza.
I don't even know what that symbol is.
I mean, where does it end?
The point is the person bringing the complaint
hates all religion.
He hates God.
He doesn't want equal representation of religion;
he wants none. down to these God haters?
I mean, is this what we teach our children?
At the first sign of a threat,
then we cave on our traditions and beliefs?
In this case, our tradition is technically in violation
of the establishment clause.
Screw the establishment clause.
Yes, I'm sorry, she's right.
There's where we want to teach our children.
Disrespect for our country and authority?
So what do you think we should do about this,
'cause this is an injustice.
What is justice?
We gain back our Christmas decorations
at the cost of our souls?
Reverend Tiller, what are you thinkin'?
The nativity's become too important.
Lovely as they are, they're statues made ofwood.
And we best not make them idols.
Oh, good, you're not doing anything.
Yes, I am.
Uncle Greg's helping me rehearse
for the Christmas program.
You can be the audience.
And if I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be
at cross country which is why I got trapped babysitting.
I'm not a baby.
Well, you're my baby. You're my baby.
It's a practice run for the Christmas Cup, so...
I'm not entering.
What?
No one's gonna miss me.
Does your dad know about this?
Dad's too worried about the people trying to rename it
the Holiday Cup to even notice.
Hi, is Cody here?
Cody!
It's a girl.
How come you're not at practice?
I'm not entering the Cup.
Why not?
Hey, don't let all the heat out, boy.
Invite her in!
Maybe she doesn't want to come in.
I'll come in.
Hey!
Hi, I'm Makayla.
Tonight, I'm playing the part of the angel.
Sienna, playing Sienna.
Our audience just doubled.
Come sit down, we're doing a show.
No!
Kayla, she doesn't want to stay for the show.
Did you ask her?
It's the same, boring old program
we go to over and over every year.
I'm sorry, did you say,
"The same boring, old program"?
I am offended that you could ever believe to find
performers like Makayla and myself could ever deliver
You're gonna change the story, then?
I don't have to change the story.
Don't you get it?
The Christmas story is the greatest story of all time.
The Christmas story is none like any other.
It's got it all. It's got intrigue.
It's got scandal. It's got surprise.
So I'll tell you what, Mr. know-it-all,
why don't you two sit there, hang on to your long johns,
and observe the masters at work.
Me, me, me, me, me, me, me.
You, you, you, you, you.
Okay, action.
In a world where there was no television or Xbox or texting,
one girl is about to experience the greatest challenge
of her life.
Look at me, I'm just a girl trying not to step anywhere
onto scorpions 'cause I have no socks to--
Do not be afraid.
You have found favor with God.
You will give birth to a child and call his name Jesus.
Is that right?
Well, what in the world would she say?
Um, actually, I'm not really good with this because
you see, I'm suddenly, like, pregnant without explanation,
which means my fiance can try to, like, officially stone me,
which completely ruins my makeup.
And my BFFs will, like, never speak to me again.
So I really don't see that as God's favorite.
She didn't say that.
No, that's what everybody today would have said.
What she actually said was,
"Let it be done to me as thou hath said,"
because it's really always spoke with an English accent.
Of course, if she did say that, it was a little,
little bit more like, "Go ahead.
Make my baby."
You don't have to stay.
I'm good.
Act two.
Matter of fact, we're missin' somebody.
I know, Joseph.
Stand right here, perfectly.
Try to look handsome for once.
Anna, forgive me for looking at this so simply.
I teach elementary kids after all,
but Christmas starts with a capital "C."
The "C" comes from a name, Christ.
Christ the Lord is the center of Christmas, not our rights,
not our tradition.
None of that matters if it starts to detract us
from the one whose birth we celebrate, right?
Right.
And forgive me, Dan, but I don't think this is something
city hall can do.
But it is something that we as Christians can do,
something we have to do.
If we spent less time worrying about our rights and more time
worrying about others' needs,
then I think we might actually be doing Christmas.
And once they arrive, what happens?
They meet up with crazy people.
Joe, what do you twos want?
Well, like the hundreds of other people here,
we want a room.
Please, I'm having a baby right now!
Yeah, like I haven't heard that.
I'll tell you what, you twos can go into the barn.
And they do.
Mary is rushed off to have her baby,
but she does it offstage since it's kind of icky.
And she possibly did it alone because it would've made Joseph
ceremonially unclean, which makes Mary not only a saint,
but he's kind of reachin' action figure status in my book.
Come here.
Cynical audience is getting out of hand.
Let's show 'em. Come on.
Look, God of the universe decides to enter our domain
in the most fragile form.
Can I have him?
There's the baby.
Aww.
That a human can take.
Wow.
Here, I'm gonna let you be Mary for a little bit.
When God, the Father, sent his Son to redeem the earth
it was a gift.
Some people welcomed it with great joy,
others spit upon it.
Two thousand years later, nothing has changed.
We give the gift with love, with humility, and with grace. to that gift is not our concern.
How we respond to the people is God's concern.
Are we supposed to just let people like Mitch
No, we're not saying we roll over.
We just prove him wrong by action, not argument.
I don't know what that means.
I don't either.
However, what does this Christmas with a capital 'C'
look like?
Like Philippians 2.
Jesus did not consider equality with God
something that could be grasped.
He made himself nothing. on the very nature of a servant.
Hmm.
The people expected a political Messiah.
Bet they didn't have popcorn back then.
But what did they get?
God, instead of coming down--shh, angels don't laugh.
Instead of God coming down miraculously... he humbled himself
and he became God with us.
And he began to heal humanity by loving them
The end.
Take your bow, son.
And so, Makayla, playing the angel.
Joseph, pathetically playing Joseph,
and me as the donkey.
Thank you.
Take your bows. Take your bows.
You were wonderful, angel.
And you were wonderful--no.
So how's your knee?
It's okay.
You have to swear you won't tell anybody about this,
you know, at school.
What? The play?
I'm serious.
I'll make you a deal.
I don't tell anyone at school, you race the Christmas Cup.
It's a deal.
Sienna.
Is that why you came out here?
Make me race?
No, I came to see the Christmas show.
Up a bit.
I got to go down.
Isaac, you're on.
Can you get this?
It looks so good, you guys, I love it!
All right!
I guess anybody can hang a banner these days.
Merry Christmas.
Who wants to buy an angel for a kid whose parents
are in prison?
All right, that's good.
Missed a spot.
No, I didn't.
Yeah, you did.
Did I?
Hot chocolate!
Complementary hot chocolate with a capital 'C.'
I could give you a shot of whipped cream.
I don't know about that.
Hi, Josie.
Hi.
Oh, last time I was in here, I kind of accidently
stepped on your chair with my muddy boots
and made a big scene.
I remember.
Sorry.
Came here to make it up to you.
I'm good.
You were way faster the day we raced.
The deal is that I enter the Cup.
I don't have to win it.
With that attitude you won't.
Thanks, Coach.
Whoa, whoa.
Wow, looks like you could use some help.
What you doin'?
I have a really good idea.
I want to make cookies
for the Christmas with a capital 'C' mission.
Ah, that is a great idea.
How about if I help you?
There we go.
I'll need your help to deliver them.
Can you drive me?
Yeah, sure.
Who are they for?
Mitch Bright.
Everybody's been doing nice things
for everybody all over town,
but nobody's done anything for him as far as I can tell.
Well, maybe they just figure he really doesn't need
any help or want it.
But everybody wants cookies.
Come on, Mom!
Why are you waiting?
You go on ahead, angel.
I'll just wait for you here, okay?
I guess he's not home.
Makayla.
Hey, the important thing is that you did it, right?
He was supposed to know he's a blessing from heaven.
Do you think he'll get it?
Sure, honey.
Hey, he'll take one bite and of course he'll know, okay?
I know.
Where have you been?
Honestly, I have been trying to call you forever.
Oh, we just went out on a little mission, huh?
Everything okay?
The judge is comin' tomorrow.
Is that good or bad?
I don't know.
By the way, good.
Ah, told ya.
How many Christmas cookies did you have tonight?
Only about seven.
All right, let's get you in bed, kiddo.
Come on.
That's it. That's it.
What?
Mitch, he would never win.
Why do you say that?
Because he makes people grumpy.
I think he makes people because he's grumpy.
Why though?
I don't know why.
That's a good question.
Let's pray, okay?
I guess we should pray for him.
Right.
Why don't you start?
Okay.
Dear Lord, thank you for this day.
Please be with Mitch and make him nice.
And let Daddy stay as Mayor.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
All right.
Night.
Night, I love you.
Perhaps you all can show me what will be placed here.
Well, there they are.
Can you bring them out a little?
Yeah, sure.
Okay.
There she is.
They're beautiful.
Someone made these?
Over 50 years ago.
They were carved by a man who worked in a lumber mill
and donated to the town.
Are there any other elements to the display?
Oh, yeah.
Some animals, a couple sheep, and a donkey.
Well, let's have a talk, shall we?
I assume you've studied the case law related
to the establishment clause?
We have.
She's been all over it with a fine-toothed comb.
Well, on the record, I have to tell you that if the creche
is the only element of the holiday display
and it is owned by the local government
and displayed on government property--
Then you must rule against it.
Yes.
Off the record, I'll tell you that I don't personally
want to make a ruling against Jesus and Mary,
especially at Christmastime.
Thank God.
So, what are you saying?
Well, there are three options to consider.
I mean, you could add to this as a holiday display and include
elements of a nonreligious nature or elements
that are of other faiths.
Or the city can donate or sell them,
the statues and the platform, to a private individual
who can display them in another place,
either on private property
or with permission in a public setting
where there is equal opportunity for others
to put up their own holiday displays.
And the third?
Don't display them at all.
But if you ask me, that would be a shame.
With all due respect, your Honor,
all three of those are ruining our town's traditions
that we've had over 50 years.
Or you could look at it as creating a new tradition.
I mean, moving the Christ child to another place of honor
Perhaps you are more concerned about yours.
And this is my advice on the case,
if you want to push for an official ruling, will have to come down.
Otherwise, let me know what you choose to do, okay?
Thank you, your Honor.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you, your Honor.
Merry Christmas.
Big cruise ships comin' up through here,
people tramplin' all over.
You know, he says it's gonna bring
a bunch of money into town.
'Cause Alaska cruises, you know, they got a lot
of retired people, you know, old people, you know,
goin' on those shoestring budget transportation tours together.
Bunch of old, widowed ladies.
Old, widowed ladies?
You got another one of those?
Coach.
Mayor.
Wow, nice button.
He's gonna bring the cruise line order
to the race on Saturday.
Isn't that great?
Yeah, that's great.
See you inside, Coach.
You know, I can help you tear this thing down.
I don't believe you would actually help me
even if I planned on takin' it down.
Oh, I could hire somebody.
It's not goin' anywhere.
Now you heard what the judge said, Dan.
There's nothin' religious about a bunch of planks of wood.
Look, ifyou want to let it sit here empty,
that's fine with me.
I told you that you were in the minority,
but you wouldn't listen.
Guess we'll find out come spring election, huh?
I got cocoa.
Mom, look at how long mine is.
No, no, no, no no!
You always get the railroads, and I want to be the tycoon.
Why don't you send some more marshmallows our way, huh?
Danny boy, wife's talkin' to ya.
He's still mad 'cause he lost.
Hey, hey, let's do a midnight run.
Me, you, and Cody, we'll take the nativity,
we'll stick it in the church.
No, no, no, let's take it to the park.
That'd make you happy.
The Grinch ruined Christmas.
It doesn't make you mad?
He didn't ruin my Christmas.
Mine's okay.
I mean, I'd be a little grinchy too
if all I had in my house
was a little couch and a suitcase.
What do you mean?
Yeah.
We're still talking about Mitch Bright, right? you talking about?
Remember when we delivered the cookies?
Well, when I looked in the window,
all I saw was a little couch and a suitcase.
Wait a minute, in that whole big house?
What about his grandmother's antiques?
And the moving van?
Wait a minute.
Are you tellin' me that the van was taking antiques
away from his house?
Hang on, hang on, let me try to figure this out.
I knew somethin' was wrong.
Okay, so Mitch Bright comes to town,
he sells or loses everything he has.
He puts on this big show about how rich, how successful he is,
how he's gonna save the town.
He's gonna run for mayor.
He puts the whole town on edge over Christmas.
Now that really makes sense.
I think this makes for a very interesting story, don't you?
But what is it?
Well maybe it's none of our business.
Who wants more popcorn?
Me!
Cody ate all mine.
You know what this means, don't you?
Road trip.
Oh, I know that look.
You Reed brothers are scheming again.
You know what, honey?
Greg and I are gonna pay a little visit
to Mitch Bright's law firm.
I'm gonna call Harland.
I'll have him get the plane ready.
All right.
Your roll, Donald Trump.
Now, I mean, would it kill you to let me be left seat once?
It might. and we show up to this office,
you let me do the talking.
You sure this is a good idea?
'Cause I'm usually game for anything.
I know.
I hope so.
I gotta take a wiz.
You're friends of Mitch Bright?
We went to high school with him.
We're in town.
Thought we'd stop by and say hey.
Well, sorry to keep you waiting.
He doesn't work here anymore.
Oh.
Well, maybe you could tell us what firm he went to or give us
an address where we could look him up?
No.
What, is it cloak and dagger or is he big trouble?
No, sorry, the firm's just protective.
Mitch was never anything but nice to me.
He gave me a shot at a few cases a while back
and he helped me get on good track here.
And all I know is is that he ended up investing in something
he shouldn't have.
It went south.
He ended up losing everything, including his job here.
Then, of course, nobody ever talks about it.
I don't know where he went
or if he has any family or friends to go to.
Well, his family's gone, but he has--you know,
he has friends.
Like you guys?
Yeah.
Yeah, right.
When you see him, you give him this.
Just tell him it's from an old friend or do it anonymously.
I don't think that we could--
No, please. to take it, but he needs it.
He really helped me out a lot back then.
I just want to help him.
Well, that's all I know, so I better get back to work.
Good luck to both of you.
Yeah, thanks for--
Good luck and Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you.
So he's ruined, he comes back to town hiding the fact.
What do you think he's trying to do?
Get a life back.
Not a very good strategy to run for mayor
while lying to everybody.
Yeah.
You know, I think this whole cruise line thing
is just to get back in the game.
Maybe people will forgive him when they find out the truth.
Or we could run him out of here on a rail.
Yeah, that'd show him the real spirit of Christmas.
It'd sure feel good.
Yeah.
Hey, Dad.
Hey, pal. What's up?
Can you help me with these?
Sure.
See you guys.
See you.
Ah, grab this thing, will you?
What's up, man?
You know that girl I was telling you about?
Uh, not sure.
You know, she's always trying to beat me.
We talked about it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
What happened?
Well, see, we were racing.
Yeah.
She was winning, but then she fell and hurt.
I thought it was my fault.
That's why I wasn't going to enter the Cup.
She bribed me to race.
Does this make any sense to you?
Not really.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
I forgot something.
So what did you do when she hurt herself?
I helped her back, of course.
I mean, I'm not a jerk.
Aw, you helped her all the way back to school.
Oh, that was nice.
I'm sure she really appreciated that.
She usually pretty fast?
Yeah, she's good.
Faster than you.
At least that day.
Yeah.
Careful, that's hot.
How are you at losing?
I try to be a good sport, you know,
but it makes me mad when I lose.
I wonder where he got that from.
Seems like somebody's listening in
on our conversation.
You guys are so slow sometimes.
We do things at our own speed.
It's called man time.
I'm getting to it.
Look, I don't think it's the race she's trying to win.
I think it's you.
She's always bothering me.
Look, you have to get past the competition.
You have to see the person.
She's just a young girl.
She got all this stuff going on inside of her.
She doesn't know how to express it, right?
Is that what you're doing?
Seeing the person there?
What do you mean?
With Mitch.
You've been doing all this investigating, you know,
so I was just wondering if you had him figured out too.
I don't know.
Look, you race tomorrow.
Do the best you can.
Win or lose, you have worked so hard for this.
You just go out there and give it everything you have.
All right? You owe that to yourself.
Yes, sir.
Is she--is she cute?
Yeah.
That's my boy.
Hey, Dan, I haven't seen Mitch and his big guest yet,
have you?
No.
He's coming, isn't he? Right?
Mitch promised he would.
I guess we'll see.
Sure hope he makes it 'cause you remember, like you said,
be good for my business.
Loser takes the winner for moose burgers.
I've already got the money in my pocket.
All right, let's race.
On your mark.
Go!
Come on, Cody!
You're doing great!
Cody!
Still my best time ever.
Still owe me a moose burger.
Nice!
Here we go. Watch your step, please.
Thanks so much.
Thanks for coming. Appreciate it.
Hope you got some good photos.
Reed brothers.
Thanks, guys.
Thanks for coming. Appreciate it.
Thanks, guys.
Whoo!
Wow, they had great weather, right?
Oh man, we got 20, 30 shots.
Hey, Mitch.
I know everybody in town's talking about today.
My contact from the cruise ship canceled.
I'm not saying the deal's done.
I just--I don't know, Christmas Eve or something.
Oh yeah.
No, we got you Mitch.
He's probably at home with his family.
I just thought it would only be right that I come down
and tell you myself.
You know, when I was a little kid growing up in this town,
I was always jealous of you two.
Never told you that before.
You got to give him that money.
Let's get her cleaned up.
Come on.
Hi.
Been such a pleasant day.
Not one mention of Mitch Bright all day.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
I love it.
I bring you good tidings of great joy
that shall be unto all people.
I bring you good news of great joy
that shall be unto all people.
Today in the town of David, a savior is born,
Christ the Lord.
Go find this baby.
You will find him wrapped in swaddling cloth
and laying in a manger.
I have something for you.
It's from an old friend.
He asked me not to tell you who.
How did he know where to find me?
You know who it's from?
Yeah, it's the exact amount of money I lent him
over 2 years ago.
He was working as a clerk and he and his wife were having a baby.
Don't you have a church service to go to?
It's over by now.
This was more important for me tonight.
Mitch, is there anything else you need?
No, I mean, why would I?
Joy to the world.
The Lord has come.
What is that?
Let earth receive her king.
Let every heart prepare him room.
And heaven and nature sing.
Let heaven and nature sing.
Let heaven and heaven and nature sing.
Thought we'd find you here.
I wasn't expecting visitors.
Well, we weren't expecting to come.
But a little angel told us that you didn't get a proper welcome
when you came to town.
We thought we'd better take care of that.
Did you get my cookies?
Yes I did, honey.
Thank you. They were delicious.
We brought you some more.
Can we come in?
Hey, Mitchell boy!
Hope you don't mind, but we brought
the Christmas Eve pageant up here.
These are not Christmas presents, all right?
These is a housewarming gifts because who doesn't celebrate
a warm house?
Can we bring 'em in?
All right, let's move.
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am freezing.
And a lot of pie made it up here tonight.
Come on in!
Ta-da!
All right.
Got a beautiful place here, brother.
Beautiful place.
Merry Christmas.
Enjoy.
Now, does Mary go on the right or the left?
She goes left.
You sure?
That's it.
We're just taking them down.
All right, all right.
Hang on one sec.
Hang on, hang on.
Hey, lookie lookie.
I know you.
Hello, Mitch.
How are you?
You know we got a right to put these out, right?
We bought it from the town.
Got permission to put it up in a public place.
I'm not ashamed ofJesus, Mitch.
Never gonna be.
Freedom of religion.
It's what makes America great, right?
Amen, brother.
That's right.
That's a copy of the order to drop the complaint
and the injunction.
Couple of crazy Christians changed my mind.
They can do that.
What's this one?
E-mail from a cruise line contact.
Says he's sorry he missed the plane.
Wants to come up in January with some of his partners.
So I'm thinking this town needs to beef up their
chamber of commerce ASAP and you're going to need
somebody who knows what he's doing.
I know the right man for the job.
Will you help us?
Well, that would mean I'd have to set aside
my campaign for mayor.
Oh, please.
I'm up in pre-election polls, you know.
I don't think so.
I hear there's a city council position opening up.
Peace on earth.
Goodwill to men.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you.
Merry Christmas.
You want to help us out?
Ho ho, got to go! Thank you.
Some things never change.
You know what?
Let's go with--get one of the kings, will you?
I want--yeah.
Come on, come on. It's in your allowance.
You know what?
Oh, come on!
I'll help.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas.
Come on, Code. You know what?
Why don't you take Mary?
There you go.
That's it. Thanks, Cody.
There you go, Mitch. Mitch, meet Mary.
We're together again.
That's the big lady. Take care of her. Thank you.
All right, watch the ear. Thanks, son.
Came off 2 years ago.
I remember when people used to say things like,
"Merry Christmas" to each other.
Everybody said, "Merry Christmas!
Hey, Merry Christmas to you, Mr. Lowenstein."
You know why?
'Cause it wasn't about a religion.
It was about something as a culture we thought
was so valuable that we would all do it together,
even if I disagreed with the religion behind it.
Because it was good for all, instead ofjust me.
But what do people say now?
"Happy Holidays."
See, I just say, "Happy Holidays"
because I won't say Christmas
because you don't believe in Christmas
because I don't want to offend you...
Oh yes, we want to say, "Happy Holidays"
because we don't want to leave anybody out, really?
How come there's a ton of holidays in February?
Nobody ever says, "Happy Holidays"
in February, do they?
"Happy Valentines."
Ooh, you believe in love?
But nobody wants to say, "Christmas."
Everything else but Christmas.
Why? I know why. You do too.
It's because it's got Christ in it and after 2000 years,
he's still intimidating people.