I reached a point this year, around September, when I had run out of coping strategies. The pandemic had endured for several months, and I was back in school for the first time in a few years. Doing yoga in the hallway of my DC apartment just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I needed some peace. I needed to be transported. I needed: Christmastime.
In 1965, Charles M. Schulz lovingly welcomed the world into his 30-minute special A Charlie Brown Christmas. For those who were familiar with Schulz’s then- and now-famous Peanuts comic strips, Charlie Brown and his crew were familiar territory. For those who aren’t familiar: Peanuts is a comic strip centered around an underdog-type character named Charlie Brown. Charlie, his dog Snoopy, and his friends navigate daily life together. Charlie’s best friend Linus is the philosophical type while Charlie’s little sister Sally is always hungry for attention. Peanuts had been around for 15 years by the time A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered, but never before on television. Kids and adults watched their favorite comic characters come to life. A Christmas miracle.
In September of 2020, I needed a Christmas miracle. Let’s be honest, we all need some kind of miracle. Charles M. Schulz saved my day once again on a random Sunday in September. I watch A Charlie Brown Christmas every December (and sometimes other months, too, if I need a pick-me-up). Every year, it comforts me with its piano-led soundtrack and beautifully illustrated setting. Both children and adults can enjoy A Charlie Brown Christmas. That’s what makes this television special, well, special. It inspires a chuckle or two (or three) as you notice the snarky quips that characters exchange with one another. “How old are these kids supposed to be?” I often wonder. A few minutes in, it’s clear that these kids don’t talk like kids, they talk like adults. Even better, they talk like adults who lack complete self-awareness. Schulz preserves the naivete of youth while allowing room for intelligent conversation. The result: comedy.
Our main character Charlie Brown is a kid, but he talks through the tough stuff in this television special.
Why am I sad during the holidays?
Shouldn’t I be happy?
What is the true meaning of Christmas?
Has even my dog (Snoopy, of course!) “gone commercial”?
Charlie’s distress rings true to the adult viewers, while kid viewers can indulge themselves in ice skating scenes, cheerful music, fluffy snow, and Christmas play rehearsals. Snoopy swings Charlie Brown’s friends around the ice skating rink while Charlie Brown waxes poetic on the true meaning of Christmas.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hannukah or Kwanza, the months of November and December are marked by holiday festivity. Charlie Brown’s own questioning of his lack of joy amidst so much excitement feels relatable, especially in a year like this one. But even on the “normal” years, many adults (and some kids, too) find the holiday season to be depressing, almost an emphasis on hard things like family issues, mental health issues, relationship issues. To be lonely when every person around you seems to be surrounded by people who love them? That’s something Charlie Brown understands.
This year, I recommend living vicariously through Charlie Brown and his castmates as we watch characters hold hands, sing, and dance together. Back in September, I sat in my apartment, hoping to immerse myself in the world of Charlie Brown. I wanted to feel like I wasn’t sitting in my apartment but was in fact joining Charlie Brown on his quest to discover the meaning of Christmas. I succeeded, to a degree.
The visuals of A Charlie Brown Christmas draw me in. Vivid colors – bright pink, deep red, night sky blue – pull me through Charlie Brown’s neighborhood, and bonus: the neighborhood is covered in snow. Snoopy’s doghouse is decorated for Christmas, and I think of the Christmas decorations my mom would strategically place throughout my childhood home. Snow begins to fall on Charlie Brown, and I remember that time I was let out of school early because the snow was starting to build up on the roads and Texas doesn’t have snow plows. The pink stage curtain at the Christmas play rehearsal reminds me of my fifth-grade holiday pageant. The stars twinkle as Charlie Brown looks up to the night sky, and I remember looking out the window on Christmas Eve, wondering if Santa and the reindeer were on their way.
Charlie Brown is the butt of most of or perhaps all of the jokes in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Charlie’s “friends” are unpredictable. Sometimes they’re kind to him, and other times they exclude him or call him names. He’s called “block head,” “stupid,” and “hopeless,” among other things. The bullying is lighthearted, and humorous, but bullying nonetheless. Charlie again finds himself to be the most relatable character on the screen in this way. It is rare to make it through life without being on the receiving end of cruelty at least one or two times. Perhaps you’ve been bullied. Perhaps your family has alienated you or your friends have turned on you. We’ve all been there to varying degrees, and so has Charlie Brown. He’s there to sit down next to you and say, “me, too.”
A Charlie Brown Christmas has aged well. It is timeless, guaranteed to bring joy to little ones excited for the holidays as well as a smirk to even the most cynical of adults. Even if you’re a bit of a Scrooge, consider watching this special. Take the chance to detach from 2020 for just half an hour today.
