The Grinch's main character trait in the 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas is that he hates Christmas, which is reasonable considering he's the Grinch. However, it's possible that the Grinch didn't hate Christmas and that what he really hated were people instead. Given the way he is treated in the film by the Whos of Whoville, it would be understandable.
In the movie, The Grinch always seemed to give in to Christmas joy when it seemed like people were finally accepting him. He was, for example, willing to act all festive as a child when Martha May (Christine Baraknski in an unconventional role) had a crush on him. Even when he grew up and was awarded the holiday cheermeisterhe managed to put aside his so-called “hatred” for Christmas and participate in the festivities. If someone hated something as much as the Grinch claimed to hate Christmas, they wouldn't be able to shake that hate as easily as the Grinch could.
The Grinch Really Hated People, Not Christmas
After the way he was treated, it makes sense that he hated Who's
There are many moments when the Grinch lets his guard down and accepts Christmas activities. Whether he's humming Christmas carols in his sleep, making Martha a tree ornament, or having fun after winning the sack race at a Christmas festival, it's clear that the Grinch enjoys Christmas to some degree. It seems that Christmas was the only constant thing in his life. The Grinch never felt like a Who, as everyone avoided him and he ran away, so the festive holiday is the only thing that hasn't changed in his life.
The mayor gives him a razor as part of a bad joke, bringing back all those traumatic childhood memories.
Every time he gave in to the Christmas spirit, the Whos turned on him. This first happened when he was a child, and he shaved his face, causing all the other children and even his teacher to laugh at him. As an adult, when he attended the Christmas party and won a prize, the mayor gave him a razor as part of a bad joke, bringing back all those traumatic childhood memories. The Grinch felt alone and betrayedso he isolated himself from society and understandably began to hate all Whos.
The Grinch only targeted Christmas because it's what he loved most
He wanted to hurt whoever hurt him
Christmas is everyone's favorite time of year: the square is always crowded, the shops are packed and the city is always beautifully decorated. So it makes sense that the Grinch wanted to hate Christmas so badly; he wanted to hurt The Whos by hurting him. When he developed the plan to steal Christmas, he did so because he wanted to take away the only thing they lovedjust like they took away his family and his happiness growing up. After the stunt at the Christmas festival, the Grinch realized that they would never change, so he wanted to get revenge.
At the end of How the Grinch Stole ChristmasThe Grinch's heart grew two sizes because Cindy Lou showed him love and friendship for the first time in his life. He decides to get into the Christmas spirit and give Christmas back to everyone, realizing his mistake. He began to accept the people in his life and gave them all the opportunity to change and treat him better, falling in love with the festival when he finally stopped hating people.