Why you should watch ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ this year

Posted On December 24, 2025December 24, 2025

I never grew up being all that familiar with Charlie Brown or Peanuts, but the slight melancholy of ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ has always inspired a sense of nostalgia in me, but for what, because I hadn’t seen A Charlie Brown Christmas, but the sound of children’s voices, paired with the sparse piano-led instrumentation, feels forever familiar, and comforting.

A few days ago, I finally settled down to watch the 1965 festive special, a charming animation that stands as one of the most essential pieces of Christmas-themed media, leaving me thinking, ‘How did I go my whole life without making an annual viewing of this film a tradition?’

It’s an unusual thing, because while you’d expect a yuletide special of a beloved cartoon to be full of joy, a large chunk of the 25-minute episode sees Charlie Brown declaring his lack of interest in the festive season, not in a Scrooge-like way, but rather, he feels incredibly down: poor Charlie Brown is depressed because his peers have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, and he decries their devotion to commercialism.

For a TV special aimed at children, I was taken aback by how strongly Charlie Brown despairs over the wrath of capitalism and greed, which threatens to destroy the magic and joy that the festive period is supposedly all about. Sure, showing someone you love them by giving them a gift is a lovely gesture, but when that overtakes real declarations of love and appreciation – through words, companionship, and quality time – it becomes meaningless.

“I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I’m still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed,” Charlie Brown says. Meanwhile, Sally is preoccupied with the idea of waking up on December 25th and seeing an array of presents laid out before her.

“Christmas is getting all you can get while the getting is good!” she exclaims. 

When Charlie Brown is put in charge of the Christmas play, he is ridiculed by his classmates, especially when he decides that a tiny, rather lacklustre tree should be the main focus on the stage. Despite the terrific one-liners that the kids come out with, hardly any of them treat Charlie Brown with respect, and you just want to reach through the screen and tell him it’ll all be OK.

With the Vince Guaraldi Trio creating an enduring jazz score for the soundtrack, the holiday special comes together beautifully, with this rather melancholic musical backing creating a wistful atmosphere that encourages the viewer to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas, too. A Charlie Brown Christmas was feared to be a disaster by its creators, because who wants to watch a slow-paced, festive-themed animation where the main character is depressed for most of the run-time, but with the episode already scheduled in, it was too late to withdraw it from being broadcast.

Luckily, it was received well, keeping its classic Peanuts charm and humour while inviting contemplation and a surprising amount of anti-capitalism to boot.

So, if you’re going to watch anything Christmassy this festive season, I’d suggest you let it be A Charlie Brown Christmas, because, especially now more than ever, it’ll remind you what this time of year is really about.

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