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There’s a fight that’s gone on for far too long.

It has embroiled family members, friends and strangers into ugly standoffs that can strain connections far into the future. Arguments can turn acidic, accusatory and even worse, it can affect relationships forever.

Lucky for you, I’m here to set the record straight and get these relationships back on track.

Yes, “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.

In getting to the root of this particular conflict, we have to look at those things that make a Christmas story truly a Christmas movie. Opinions will differ on this account, but I’ve narrowed it down to at least three things I hope we can all nod thoughtfully about.

First, it has to happen around Christmas. That’s kind of a no-brainer so I really don’t think I have to explain it any further.

Secondly, said Christmas movies should have a holiday feel: songs, festive decorations, snow, those kinds of things, but not all at once  necessarily.

Third, it should have some kind of holiday message that sets the tone for the season. In “A Christmas Carol” it’s about redemption. In “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” it’s about finding friendship and love through the holiday spirit. In “Home Alone” it’s about not forgetting your kid when you fly your family to France.

Now, there are no doubt a bunch of things that mark a Christmas movie. According to the Hallmark Channel it’s about a season of being a dating service, but that’s something completely different for perhaps another column.

In essence though, those things I have listed tend to be the big three from what I’ve seen and really can act as a yuletide lattice for building everything else around the holidays.

Now, with those perimeters set, let’s go about ensuring you know that I’m right and you’re wrong.

The first point is a gimme. John McClane, the titular hero of our story played by Bruce Willis, is in California during Christmas. He’s carrying a gigantic teddy bear as a gift for one of his children.

When he gets to Nakatomi Plaza there is a holiday party going on complete with everything that was celebrated in the 80s — terrible suits and plenty of alcohol.

So, right there in the first 20 minutes of the movie we’ve established point one so let’s move on to point No. 2.

There should be that holiday feel, which again goes with the first one. Argyle, the movie’s limo driver and under-appreciated cog in McClane’s fight against the bad guys, sets the tone by playing “Christmas in Hollis” by Run DMC while taking McClane to Nakatomi.

During other times of the movie you can hear jingling bells lightly jingling in the background of pivotal scenes and toward the end there is wrapping paper sitting out in a cart. In the final confrontation, McClane’s gun is taped to his back with festive tape. The end is punctuated by the falling snow of bearer bonds drifting lightly from the sky.

Bingo!

And lastly, let’s acknowledge the holiday theme present in the movie. There’s two really, including the story arc of McClane trying to rekindle his marriage with his wife Holly (her name is Holly and it’s around the holidays? Coincidence? I think not!) and reunite the family.

That right there is classic holiday movie gold, but we can go one step further.

The entire spirit of Christmas is often based around the philosophy of giving a gift rather than receiving a gift. It’s about being humble and giving more of yourself during the holidays.

The entire last confrontation is built around this notion of sharing that which you have with others. In this case, McClane shares one of his last two bullets with Hans Gruber, showing that in this very merry of 80s action Christmas movies, it is indeed better to give than receive.

At the very end Al Powell, the cop who befriends McClane, gives of his own firepower to the final terrorist and it’s all punctuated by Argyle wishing McClane and Holly a merry Christmas while “Let It Snow” plays off into the credits.

Now, join me next time as I explain why “Lethal Weapon” is a Christmas movie.