Many think that the battle to keep Christ in Christmas is something new. It is not. Back in 1965 when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was produced for television, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz had one goal in mind for his program, he insisted that it had to be “about something”. Mainly, he insisted that it had to be about the true meaning of Christmas. Otherwise, he said, “Why bother?” If you have watched that Christmas classic recently, you know he had his way. It is a timeless classic, mostly lighthearted and inspiring, with the uplifting jazz soundtrack performed by Vince Guaraldi. It gave our language a new term for the last tree on the Christmas tree lot, a “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree”.
The highlight of the special is a moving scene in which the Linus character, faithful blanket in hand, calms the fighting Christmas pageant cast by standing in the spotlight and explaining the true meaning of Christmas. His words dare to include a biblical passage from the Gospel of Luke. Oh my! When he is finished with the quote, Linus turns and addresses someone directly saying, “That is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” For those of us who know and love this passage, we were thrilled!
Thrilled however, was not the word CBS executives used when they first viewed the completed special. They hated it or at least did not “get” it. And not just the “preachy” part but the whole show. They said the pace was “off” and the music was too different for a kid’s cartoon. They considered scrapping the program altogether but were committed to the time slot. And the soft drink giant Coca-Cola was sponsoring the program, an account very precious to them. They vowed that this would be the last Peanuts special ever, but they would have to take their lumps for it and let it air, it was too late to cancel. They thought the use of an actual Bible verse in an animated special would certainly alienate viewers, but Charles Shulz held his ground and insisted that the scene not be cut. The executives thought that Coca-Cola would certainly object as well, but they gave their blessing, too.
We know what happened. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a huge success and one producer described the scene with Linus as, “the most magical two minutes in all TV animation.” Eight-year-old Christopher Shea voiced the part of Linus. His measured, straightforward and innocent sounding voice reading Luke 2:8-14 is considered legendary.
CBS executives thought it would run one year and be forgotten. The next year it would win a Peabody award and an Emmy for Outstanding Christmas Programming. Good grief, Charles Schulz! Way to a stand on your Christian principles, it really paid off! Have a blessed and meaningful Christmas as we keep Christ in the center of our celebrations!
(Steve Berger is pastor of First Methodist Church Minden, a Global Methodist Church. He is the husband of Dianne, his partner in ministry, they have two adult sons, a dachshund, and love living in Minden.)