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The Gospel According to Peanuts
How A Charlie Brown Christmas almost didn’t happen

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Excerpt: What people don’t know is that the Christmas special almost didn’t happen, because some not-so-smart television executives almost didn’t let it air. You see, Charles Schulz had some ideas that challenged the way of thinking of those executives 46 years ago, and one of them had to do with the inclusion in his Christmas cartoon of a reading from the King James Bible’s version of the Gospel of Luke.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Full Story [nationalreview.com]

As some here know, I am a life-long fan of Charlie Brown and the gang. I still get teary-eyed when I hear cartoon characters singing glory to the newborn King.

Thanks for the article. Still the best Christmas special, IMHO.

It was only after my parish acquired its Processional Cross that I grasped the "real meaning" of Christmas in the Charlie Brown movie--and it is much, much, more than Linus's recitation.

As soon as Linus finishes, the children go to Charlie Brown's pathetic little tree...the one which earlier they had said "you killed it".

Charlie grasps the still bent over tree like a Crucifer and leads the children in procession to Snoopy's overdecorated doghouse. When the children remove the decorations from the doghouse and place them on the tree the tree comes to life.

So the real meaning is death and resurrection: the dead tree restored; and Snoopy's overdecorated doghouse "dying"...even as we must die daily to sin to live in the glory of the Resurrection.

As a side note, there is a book called with that title that uses the cartoon to illustrate, as it were, various points in Christ's teaching.

Dear Pastor Thomas,

That is a very inspiring analogy.

Respectfully in Christ,
Alice

My family and I are also Charlie Brown lovers--especially Snoopy (isn't he the coolest dog ever?!?)..

I was a little girl when this special first aired...and entertainment was wholesome and good at the time. I am surprised that the 'fear' of Christmas started way back then...

On a surprising but positive note, I was at Trader Joe's yesterday, and the song that was playing over the loudspeaker was a real Christmas carol:THE FIRST NOEL--'born is the King of Israel'--mind you Trader Joe's in my area is in a heavily non-Christian area too!

When I was a child, this was the norm but now, I am embarrassed to say but will admit that it almost felt strange and uncomfortable because of all the years of political correctness and dechristianizing of the holiday season.

Oddly enough, Alice, I went to NYC public schools from 1961 to 1972, and in both elementary and junior high school, we not only learned and sang Christmas carols, we also learned and sang Channukah songs, the Pilgrim's song for Thanksgiving and the songs and customs of a whole range of cultures and religions. Back then, I suppose, it was believed that tolerance was best learned by exposure to as many different traditions as possible, as opposed to the current view today, that tolerance must be imposed by protecting people from exposure to any traditions at all.

Most of the kids in my class, including me, were Jewish, by the way. The Saturday Night Live skit, in which Eliott Gould played the Rabbi invited to the Knights of Columbus dinner (only the rabbi knew all the words to the Christmas carols) is based on a fundamental truth about people who grew up in that time and place.

Trader Joe's plays Christmas carols here in Northern Virginia, too.

Oddly enough, that's how I grew up in public schools in the 70's & 80's...and even stranger is my children in the public schools today...they are still singing christmas carols and learning Channukah songs...times have not changed as much as some would like to pretend it has...I'm not saying some things have changed...(stores are no longer closed on Sundays for example) but the "war on Christmas" is plain crazy, it doesn't really exist...

Dear Job,

Perhaps that is because you live in Ct? Here in the suburbs of NYC, my children, who went to public elementary school starting in 1987 had 'holiday' concerts and they did include Jewish songs like 'Dreidel', 'Channukah', etc. (and I thought that was really nice because I am all for respecting everyone's traditions) but not *one* Christmas song was religious in nature...and that is what I meant.

One will hear lots of 'Jingle Bells', 'White Christmas', 'Silver Bells', 'Frosty' and 'Rudolph', 'Baby it's cold outside', etc..., but it is somewhat rare to hear the religious songs these days..that is why I was a little surprised.

The same goes for Nativity scenes. The only one I can think of where I am is on the private grounds of a Byzantine Catholic Church, but it is on a main road and very visible to all the passing traffic, as is the large Byzantine style crucifix behind it.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack this thread away from the Peanuts gang! *wink*

Alice

Wait till they find out the symbolism behind the pretzel's shape.

I wrote a hymn about that over a decade ago. The Lutheran calendar celebrates the Transfiguration twice--on August 6, and on the final Sunday before Lent (Forgiveness Sunday), thus the Transfiguration allusions in the text:

BEFORE THE TIME
OF FAST AND PRAYER

THE PRETZEL HYMN

TUNE: ERHALT UNS, HERR


Before the time of fast and prayer
God grants to us a vision fair
Of glory that will some day be
When He trans-fig-ures you and me.

The grain of earth, beaten and stirred
Softened with water, like the Word
And wrapped, a heart to in-ter-lace
Will teach us Forty Days to face.

The “little arms” now to us say:
“’Tis time to fast, ‘tis time to pray;
And as these gifts you freely give
‘Tis time in char-i-ty to live”.

So as the dough did warm and rise
Come, Lord, trans-fig-ure all our lives
That, given to the great and least
You may prepare us for the Feast.