WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
Christmas is a time to gather with family, friends and others who have touched our lives deeply. On this day, I hope you are sharing in the joy of the season with loved ones.
It's a sad fact that medical and health truth, which can take years and frequently decades, before gaining widespread recognition is being censored. I aim to arm you with the information you need to avoid becoming yet another tragic COVID-19 statistic.
Enjoy One of My All-Time Favorite Movies: 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Released in 1946, "It's a Wonderful Life" still captures the hearts of new viewers seven decades later — a testament to its quality, even though it was a box office failure at the time of its debut. Perhaps it's because it's such a wonderful metaphor for your power to change the world that it has stood the test of time. It's one of my personal all-time favorites.
In the film, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) spends his entire life giving up his big dreams for the good of his town, Bedford Falls. But come one Christmas Eve, he is dismayed and suicidal over a misplaced bank deposit and the plotting of the evil millionaire, Mr. Henry Potter, who wants to take over the town.
Just when George's spirit is about to be broken, his guardian angel, Clarence, falls to Earth and shows him how his town, family and friends would've turned out had he never been born. At the time, in 1946, Time magazine declared the film was "possibly the best movie of the year," noting it was the "skilled balance of fantasy, sentimentality and quality" that made the film stand out above the crowd.1
"In unskilled hands, this moral fable might have been dully preachy," the reviewer said. "Director Capra's inventiveness, humor and affection for human beings keep it glowing with life and excitement. Stewart's warm-hearted playing of what might have been a goody-goody role is a constant delight. And if director Capra's Christmas-cheer ending is slightly hoked up to make it richer and happier than life, that is the way many a good fable ends."
Despite glowing reviews, the film failed to recoup the $2.3 million spent on the production. Some have suggested it might have been too "dark" for the 1946 postwar holiday season. The film didn't become a Christmas classic until the 1970s, after its copyright had expired and it began being aired on television on Christmas Eve.
The ending to this movie, if any of you still haven't seen it, will bring tears to your eyes and remind you of how many lives YOU touch every day. So, this holiday season, I want to thank you for your loyalty and support, and wish you peace, joy and health on this special day.
I'd like to leave you with one final thought — an idea for what to gift those on your Holiday shopping list, as quoted by novelist Oren Arnold. The best part? These gifts don't come from a store and they keep on giving all year long.
"Christmas Gift Suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect."
Merry Christmas!