Christmas

Good grief: 50 things about 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'

USA TODAY

Charlie Brown is disappointed about the overwhelming materialism he sees among everyone during the Christmas season and tries to share the holiday with a special tree in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'

As A Charlie Brown Christmas marks its 50th anniversary, the USA TODAY Life staff shares some thoughts on what is remarkable about the annual Peanuts TV special. It airs on ABC on Monday at 9 ET/PT.

And so, here we go, — what is it about A Charlie Brown Christmas:

1. The sad-looking twig that we know as the Charlie Brown Christmas tree is forever etched in our minds.

2. Vince Guaraldi created for the special what we could call: The Best. Jazz. Score. Ever.

3. Viewers are introduced to the best cartoon pianist in Schroeder ...

4. Whose obsession with Beethoven helps make the master composer a familiar character to Baby Boomers ...

5. And who influences a generation of wannabe musicians.

6.The Peanuts dance: We. Can't. Even.

It's time to dance on 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'

7. When we hear Christmastime is Here, it's time for everyone to settle down, be quiet and watch.

8. Linus and Lucy remains catchy and yet it happened to be written two years before the special premiered.

9. One of the greatest version of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing still gives us goosebumps.

10. Caroling is cool.

Everybody sings along at the end of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'

11. Everyone should write a letter to Santa.

12. A Christmas decorating contest? We are so there. (Thanks, Snoopy!)

13. Generations remember those other holiday specials it spawned, led by It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, a year later ...

14. And A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973) ...

15. Then It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974) ...

16. We also can't forget those other holiday specials created in its wake and that we also look forward to, led by Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) ...

17. And Frosty the Snowman (1969).

50 years in, 'Charlie Brown Christmas' remains timeless

18. But still, "if you want Christ in Christmas, you pretty much have to turn to Charlie," writes USA TODAY's Robert Bianco. It's one of the only specials to reference the religious holiday.

19. We recall Charlie Brown Christmas stressed many morals to live by, such as ... The biggest tree isn’t always the best tree.

20. And there’s more to Christmas than opening presents and spending money.

21. If you want to try catching snowflakes on your tongue, it's best to wait for January snowflakes. ("I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January," Lucy says.)

Linus, listening here to Charlie Brown, shows how cool security blankets are in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'

22. Security blankets really do have special powers.

23. It’s OK to feel depressed at Christmas.

24, Every neighborhood could benefit from a low-cost psychiatric booth!

25. Where else could we learn that pantophobia is the fear of everything?

26. And periodically, we are reminded: Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a dog just like Snoopy?

Snoopy gets into the holiday spirit as Schroeder and Lucy look on in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'

27. As fans of animated projects can tell you: The special also inspired future animators to give us their gifts: Pete Docter (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc.); Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo). ...

28. Just as Guaraldi's compositions inspired other musicians, such as George Winston and David Benoit, to give us theirs.

In 2014, City Councilman Jeff Waltman fought to save the official Christmas tree in Reading, Pa., after residents compared it to the spindly tree in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'

29. If we look around during the holidays, Charlie Brown Christmas inspired some of our favorite Christmas decorations for our own homes, including versions of the iconic spindly tree and even metallic trees. What? You didn't want a metallic tree — ever?

Kristin Chenoweth as Sally performs a scene from 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.'

30. It is a holiday special that every family member can agree on. "It's part of tradition — not just for my family but for so many,' actress Kristin Chenoweth tells USA TODAY's Patrick Ryan. She played Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally, on Broadway.

31. Which reminds us: The special spawned many stage adaptations. Who'd you want to be?

32. And, ironically, inspired Macy’s window displays in New York.

A Peanuts inspired Christmas window at Macy's Herald Square in New York.

33. We feel nostalgic for the special when we see the Snoopy balloon at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, and also ...

The Snoopy float glides down Central Park South during the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 2010.

34. The Charlie Brown balloon at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Charlie Brown is in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2012..

35. And well, every true fan has to have commemorative postage stamps with the Charlie Brown theme!

36. And for '90s sitcom fans, the special brings a smile as they consider the possibility that Charlie’s Christmas tree inspired Seinfeld’s Festivus pole, related to a holiday invented by George’s dad, Frank Costanza.

In a photo from 2006, Phil Davis puts plastic over some Festivus poles before they are shipped at the Wagner Companies in Milwaukee. Festivus poles are sold for the holiday season, in honor of a wacky holiday popularized in a 1997 'Seinfeld' episode where the festivities featured a plain aluminum pole instead of a tree.

37. And Saturday Night Live fans can do the same as they recall the “You’re a Rat Bastard Charlie Brown” skit.

38. Another tie to recent TV: An ad executive at McCann-Erickson, whose client Coca-Cola commissioned the special, was almost certain his client would kill the project. Hello, Mad Men fans!

39. But on a more serious note, Charlie Brown Christmas reminds people of the literary value of the New Testament (or at least the King James version).

40. No one can forget the innocent voice of the little boy who played Linus (who does the reciting) which was the perfect vehicle for telling the old story from the Gospels.

'A Charlie Brown Christmas' almost never happened

41. But even more seriously, if its intention has been to shout, “STOP!” to rampant commercialism, then, alas, it has been a FAIL. Compared to 50 years ago, commercialism is now far more rampant and Christmas is far more tedious. And so, Charlie Brown Christmas is a timeless classic to return to on TV to escape the madness.

Customers stream into Macy's flagship store in Herald Square on Thanksgiving evening for early Black Friday sales.

42. The special foreshadows Black Friday brawling when Linus utters: "Christmas is not only getting too commercial, it's getting too dangerous."

43. It has a groundbreaking legacy to continue: In 1966. tomboyish Peppermint Patty would be introduced as the first cartoon character on TV who was not a girlie-girl.

44. And a few years after that, Franklin, the first African-American Peanuts character would join the gang. He appeared first in the strip in 1968 and then first in a special in Snoopy, Come Home in 1972. What a wonderful world indeed.

45. The prospect of Woodstock joining the gang would continue the theme of kindness. A dog and a bird as interspecies pals: Of course we can all get along.

Snoopy flies by as spectators look on during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2013.

46. Just like horse-race jockey colors, we root for our favorite Peanuts character’s signature outfit such as purple and black horizontal stripes on Schroeder ...

47. Lucy’s blue dress with black and white oxford shoes ...

48. Charlie Brown’s yellow shirt with thick, black, jagged-line trim ...

49. And Pig-Pen's cloud of dust.

50. Finally, A Charlie Brown Christmas reminds us that sometimes, we overthink this whole Christmas thing. ("Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem," Linus says.)

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