Review of A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas has survived, I think, because it is the most adult of all Christmas specials; it is the only one which accurately foreshadows the melancholy many adults, but few children, feel during the holidays. I paid little attention to Charlie Brown's musings on the true meaning of Christmas until I began re-watching the show in my mid-twenties, after I had gotten over my teenage scorn of the holidays and rediscovered the pleasures of the season. It was then that I noticed the striking differences between this and other classic Christmas specials: The Charlie Brown special doesn't include an appearance by Santa Claus, has no monsters or mythical creatures (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), or feature any acts of magic (Frosty the Snowman.) These differences make A Charlie Brown Christmas a show for kids and adults, while the other specials are merely children's tales. A Charlie Brown Christmas has lasted because it tells a simple, straightforward story of a small group of troubled children and their determined search for a little Christmas joy. By the show's end it is debatable whether they have found, or ever will find, that joy, but their yearly search makes our search much more bearable.