Posted on 11/30/2015 2:52:17 PM PST by windcliff
The debut of “A Charlie Brown Christmas†would capture not only the Emmy and Peabody awards, but also roughly half the people watching television across America. And its place in the nation’s holiday hearth has remained fixed ever since. As the special celebrates its 49th anniversary this week — and the strip enjoys its 64th year — ABC airs the “Peanuts†special tonight (the first time of the season for the full, not-edited-for-commercial-constraints version).
As viewers tune in to see a sparse and wilting “Charlie Brown Christmas tree†— a conifer embodiment of “Chuck’s†hard-luck seasonal mood that soon entered our national vernacular — a question about this beguilingly humble cartoon perseveres: Why, precisely, does “A Charlie Brown Christmas†endure?
Charles Schulz insisted on one core purpose: “A Charlie Brown Christmas†had to be about something. Namely, the true meaning of Christmas. Otherwise, Schulz said, “Why bother doing it?â€
Mendelson and Melendez asked Schulz whether he was sure he wanted to include Biblical text in the special. The cartoonist’s response, Mendelson recalls: “If we don’t do it, who will?â€
The result — Linus’s reading from the Book of Luke about the meaning of the season — became “the most magical two minutes in all of TV animation,†the producer says.
(At center stage, Linus says, in part: “..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 and goodwill towards men.’
“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.â€)
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
They are there to apologize for the Christian theme.
Agreed. Times have certainly changed. And don’t let anyone tell you that they haven’t.
Wondering if they’ll toss in a gay themed advertisement as a jab at the Christians.
Thanks, but I don’t have MS Word. Someone suggested here a couple weeks ago that you could also copy and paste an article to be posted’s text onto notepad or wordpad, then copy it from there and paste it into FR’s box for a new thread or post.
Thanks
Thanks.
Imagine it was put together by a bunch of guys from the SF Bay Area.
I recall seeing a documentary about Charles Schultz a few years ago, and it seems that it almost didn't air back in the day because CBS execs were "nervous" about the clear explanation of Christian belief in Linus' great speech. Schulz apparently told the suits that if the Linus speech was cut he would pull the whole show. The suits caved and the show went on.
The best Christmas special of all time.
I am going to watch it on a 65” flat screen, which is a far cry when I first saw it - a 22” Philco-Ford cabinet tv...
This problem just started recently. Could you please explain why in terms that a techno-challenged old lady could understand? Thanks.
Linus Speech on The True Meaning of Christmas
Charlie Brown: Isn*t there anyone, who knows what Christmas is all about?!
Linus: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please?
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 tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, 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, and good will toward men.
That*s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
The True Meaning of Christmas from the Bible
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 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 Saviour, 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. – Luke 2:4-14 KJV
Special thanks to Charles Schulz and the whole Peanuts gang for having the courage to put the true meaning of Christmas in their animated film. It has become a true Christmas classic.
- See more at: http://bibleornot.org/the-true-meaning-of-christmas-linus-speech/#sthash.xkvQNo24.dpuf
Believe or not, and despite the network executives’ objections because they didn’t want to offend anybody, Charles Schultz insisted that Linus’ recounting of the Nativity Story (and the mentioning of Christ) be included or he would not produce the show. The network caved and thus now have the classic Charlie Brown special.
Imagine what we could accomplish if more people (RINOs) had a pair of balls to stand up for their principles/morals/ethics.
Thanks so much for posting this, now I have it all set to record. BTW if you just type over the quote marks, etc. That get messed up they’ll be OK. You can preview and see which ones need to be replaced. I have this same issue at my job with one of the programs I use.
“Charlie Brown” is what America once was, and should be, could be again.
Remember next November and bring back the all-American “Peanuts” gang and goodness to America.
LOL. Yes I love that Christmas movie, too. In fact maybe I will watch it tonight.
Ra ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra.
I believe folks were speculating something about the way that the software is interpreting the characters.
Wish I had a better explanation.
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