Ah, Christmas! It’s a wonderful time of the year. Many families will be trimming their trees, wrapping presents, putting up wreaths and boughs of holly, and stringing colourful lights. The old caroling books will be dusted off, eggnog will be consumed, and the unenviable task of last-minute shopping will be suffered by a few well-meaning souls.
I’ll be doing many of these things with my wife and son. I’m a non-religious Jew who has celebrated Christmas for decades. In particular, there’s one childhood Yuletide tradition I’m proud to have carried over to my family: watching my favorite animated TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
There are many wonderful Christmas movies (A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas) and TV specials (How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, Frosty the Snowman, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Little Drummer Boy) for the young, and young at heart.
Yet nothing has ever captured my attention – or most people’s attention – quite as much as A Charlie Brown Christmas. Based on Charles M. Schulz’s popular comic strip, Peanuts, this 1965 animated special has remained a holiday staple for nearly 50 years.
It also broke down a significant barrier about religious themes on mainstream prime-time viewing. This was the first animated special to quote directly from the Bible and promote a wholly positive message about Christianity, thanks to Schulz’s soft-spoken albeit firm influence. In Lee Mendelson’s book, A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition (2000), the great cartoonist is depicted as a “true Christian gentleman” and “genuinely nice person” who was “very religious, a student of the Bible, and…taught adult Bible classes.”
Would it surprise you to learn A Charlie Brown Christmas nearly didn’t get on the air?
CBS executives were (predictably) concerned by the Peanuts character Linus quoting a passage from the King James Bible (Luke 2:8-14). It even worried Bill Melendez, the special’s animator, until he spoke with Schulz. Here’s how he described their conversation:
“It was amazing how Sparky [Schulz] came up with the religious aspect of the story and made it so acceptable. He wanted to be very straightforward and honest, and he said what he wanted to say because he was a very religious guy. When I first looked at that part of the story I told Sparky, “We can’t do this, it’s too religious. And he said to me, ‘Bill, if we don’t do it, who else can? We’re the ones who can do it.’”
Meanwhile, Mendelson, the special’s producer, wrote that “two top” CBS executives thought A Charlie Brown Christmas was…well…boring:
“‘Well, you gave it a good shot,’ said one. ‘It seems a little flat…a little slow,‘ said the other. I was crushed. ‘Well,‘ said the first, ‘we will, of course, air it next week, but I’m afraid we won’t be ordering any more. We’re sorry; and believe me, we’re big Peanuts fans. But maybe it’s better suited to the comics page.’”
Everyone make mistakes, of course. Yet the fact that experienced TV executives almost missed the boat on A Charlie Brown Christmas speaks volumes about how out-of-touch they apparently were with viewing audiences.
Fortunately, a positive article by Time’s TV writer, Richard Burgheim, and TV Guide’s two-page spread helped put out the good word. American families gave their seal of approval, too. The animated special finished second behindBonanza in the Dec. 9, 1965 Neilsen ratings with nearly 15.5 million viewers. It went on to win both an Emmy and Peabody Award.
A Charlie Brown Christmas remains popular. After a promotional VHS release at Shell Oil locations, Paramount released it on home video in 1994 (which I own, and is out of print). Warner Bros. assumed the rights in 2008, and released high quality DVD and Blu-ray versions. There have been children’s book adaptations, including Hallmark’s interactive title with sound effects. Disneyland Records released a book-and-record set in 1977. A CD version of jazz musician Vince Guaraldi’s original soundtrack is easy to find. Meanwhile, 8.85 million U.S. households watched it on its current network, ABC, according to Neilsen’s Nov. 28, 2012 ratings.
What has been the secret of this animated special’s long-lasting appeal? It’s the same brilliant technique Schulz used during his cartooning career: incorporating a subtle, unobtrusive message to help explain an important religious concept. In this case, it’s celebrating the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ.
Many Christians and non-Christians have watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. There have been very few complaints about its underlying message of protecting and promoting religious traditions and Christian teachings. Schulz’s lifelong derision of using an in-your-face approach is one factor. The other is within this animated special’s beauty and simplicity comes a greater appreciation of Christmas.
It’s fun to open presents, sing carols, and share a little festive cheer. Christmas is for everyone, irrespective of your religious background. At the same time, it’s equally important to celebrate the principles of faith, family and friendship during Christmastide.
As Linus says to the Peanuts gang in A Charlie Brown Christmas:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
“That’s what Christmas is all about,” Linus tells Charlie Brown. While I may celebrate this holiday in my own way, I find absolutely no reason to disagree.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Michael Taube is a Washington Times columnist and a former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
