# A Charlie Brown Christmas: Tuesday **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270 "2005-12-06T00:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/41 "2005-12-07T16:07:07Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > I love Charlie Brown Christmas Special but in one of those silly TV guide Polls the Grinch was # 1 and Charlie Brown Christmas Special was #2. > [@JThunder](#): > > Yes, I remember that poll. I don’t believe the results for one minute. perhaps - but they are certainly my top 2 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/42 "2005-12-07T16:38:29Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > perhaps - but they are certainly my top 2 I’d say they make my Top 3, along with the much-overlooked **Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol**. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/43 "2005-12-07T16:57:43Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Nope- that’s the live-action movie. The one on ABC Family you mentioned is, too. Toldja it’s hard to read! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/44 "2005-12-07T17:08:11Z")
The Grinch (the _real_ one) is going to be on the WB on Dec. 14th. 8:00, 7:00 central. Christmas Day will always be, just as long as we have we. ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/45 "2005-12-07T17:29:35Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > i am impressed with your knowledge > > btw - Five was named such because his dad had had it up to his arm pits with the digitalization of society (5 digits zip codes were relatively new in the 60’s - anyone else remember “Chicago 69 Illinois” as the address of the Speigel Catalogue people?) it was also in the early 60’s that Ma Bell dropped the word exchanges in favor of numeric ones Also, the two girls dancing in the special are 3 and 4, 5’s little sisters. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/46 "2005-12-07T18:19:07Z")
A few years ago when the Charlie Brown Christmas special aired I was watching it (and having a few beers, ho ho ho) and came up with a theory that the other kids represent the seven deadly sins. Lucy is Wrath; Sally is Lust, with her eternal crush on Linus; Pigpen is Sloth; Violet is Pride (“Naturally curly hair!”); and… well, actually that’s as far as I got. Maybe another Doper can fill in the blanks for Envy, Greed, and Gluttony. Snoopy is a bit of a Loki character, the anarchic spirit of the world. Charlie Brown, of course, is the opposite of all these, the cardinal virtues. Humility, Generosity, Love, Kindness, Self-Control, Faith, and Zeal. (He’s maybe a quart low on zeal, but I’ll cut him some slack; the poor kid’s depressed.) Just a passing thought. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/47 "2005-12-07T18:20:52Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > A few years ago when the Charlie Brown Christmas special aired I was watching it (and having a few beers, ho ho ho) and came up with a theory that the other kids represent the seven deadly sins. > > Lucy is Wrath; Sally is Lust, with her eternal crush on Linus; Pigpen is Sloth; Violet is Pride (“Naturally curly hair!”); and… well, actually that’s as far as I got. Maybe another Doper can fill in the blanks for Envy, Greed, and Gluttony. Snoopy is a bit of a Loki character, the anarchic spirit of the world. > > Charlie Brown, of course, is the opposite of all these, the cardinal virtues. Humility, Generosity, Love, Kindness, Self-Control, Faith, and Zeal. (He’s maybe a quart low on zeal, but I’ll cut him some slack; the poor kid’s depressed.) > > Just a passing thought. oooh, WAY too deep for me, guy! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/48 "2005-12-07T18:23:33Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > Violet is Pride (“Naturally curly hair!”) That’s Frieda, the one with the red “naturally curly hair.” Violet has black hair, pulled back in a little bun. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/49 "2005-12-07T18:44:53Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > A few years ago when the Charlie Brown Christmas special aired I was watching it (and having a few beers, ho ho ho) and came up with a theory that the other kids represent the seven deadly sins. > > Lucy is Wrath; Sally is Lust, with her eternal crush on Linus; Pigpen is Sloth; Violet is Pride (“Naturally curly hair!”); and… well, actually that’s as far as I got. Maybe another Doper can fill in the blanks for Envy, Greed, and Gluttony. Snoopy is a bit of a Loki character, the anarchic spirit of the world. > > Charlie Brown, of course, is the opposite of all these, the cardinal virtues. Humility, Generosity, Love, Kindness, Self-Control, Faith, and Zeal. (He’s maybe a quart low on zeal, but I’ll cut him some slack; the poor kid’s depressed.) > > Just a passing thought. In the context of the special Snoopy could represent both greed “Win Money! Money! Money!” and gluttony: the giant pile of dog bones he’s snacking on at the beginning. Come to think of it, he is always up for suppertime. And Lucy’s desire for real estate instead of stupid toys and clothes and stuff for Christmas presents is pretty avaricious, too. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/50 "2005-12-07T20:49:25Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > A truly brilliant move, I might add. Why not milk a little bit more viewership out of the most beloved Christmas special of all time? Not only that, but commercial time has increased in the past 40 years. I didn’t realize by how much until a couple of years back, when CBS aired _The Year Without A Santa Claus_. Presumably to cut time for commercials, every song (except the title song, the two Miser songs, and _Blue Christmas_) ended after its first verse, and then faded to the next scene. Even though they did restore two musical numbers in the mid-1990s, CBS’s airings of _Rudolph_ cut one brief scene towards the end that is available only on DVD. It’s interesting how much a commodity TV has become over the years. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/51 "2005-12-07T20:51:12Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > In the context of the special Snoopy could represent both greed “Win Money! Money! Money!” and gluttony: the giant pile of dog bones he’s snacking on at the beginning. Come to think of it, he is always up for suppertime. True, but even though Snoopy took part in the general mockery of Charlie Brown, I never felt like he was really one of the mean ones. He was interested in causing mischief in a general way, but I don’t think he really cared much one way or the other about the actual case at hand. He was just having fun and being loud. After thinking about this a bit more (because it’s not like I have a Tax exam in two days or anything…), I still don’t see an “envy character.” I suppose self-loathing is at the root of envy, and all the kids who gang up on Charlie Brown are totally secure in their smug superiority. And you’re right that Lucy could embody several of the deadly sins, but for purely aesthetic reasons I’d like to see it map out to one sin per kid. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/52 "2005-12-07T21:21:14Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > What’s bugging me is I am missing about 1/2 a dozen repeat characters Just for the heck of it, here’s a complete list of (seen) _Peanuts_ characters, as appears in _50 Years of Happiness: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz_ by Derrick Bang, published by the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa (which is currently holding an exibition of the 40th anniversary of _A Charlie Brown Christmas_): In order of first appearance…(some of these characters were seen in only one strip) The Children: Charlie Brown, Patty, Shermy, Violet, Schroeder, Lucy, Linus, Pig-Pen, Charlotte Braun (character similar to Lucy, **TALKED REALLY LOUD** ), Sally, Frieda, 5, 3 and 4 (5’s sisters), Peppermint Patty, Franklin, Marcie, Rerun, Eudora Animals: Snoopy, Faron (Frieda’s cat), Woodstock, The Beagle Scouts (Snoopy is scoutmaster, Woodstock, Conrad, Bill, Oliver, Harriet, Raymond, Fred, Roy), Spike (brother of Snoopy), Belle (sister), Marbles (brother), Olaf (brother), Andy (brother), Snoopy’s mother, Snoopy’s father, “Joe Cactus” (a friend of Spike’s). Note: Snoopy was one of eight siblings, but only six of these dogs were named and identified in the comic strip. Other children: Roy (friend Charlie Brown met at summer camp), Jose Peterson (fellow member of Peppermint Patty’s baseball team), Clara, Shirley, and Sophie (three kids Peppermint Patty met at summer camp- Clara and Marcie may be the same person), Lila (Snoopy’s original owner), Thibault (a bully), Poochie (a girl who was interesting in owning Snoopy), Loretta (Girl Scout who rescued Snoopy during an expedition), Truffles (crush of Linus), Floyd (in love with Peppermint Patty), Austin, Ruby, Leland and Milo (pee-wee baseball team coached by CB), Molley Volley, Crybaby Boobie, “Bad Call” Benny (tennis opponents), Joe Richkid (golfer), Harold Angel (result of a misinterpretation of _Hark! The Herald Angels Sing_ by Sally), Lydia, Maynard (PP’s tutor), Tapioca Pudding, Peggy Jean (in love with CB, calls him “Brownie Charles”), Larry (believes The Great Gatsby is a Biblical character), Cormac (another camp friend of CB), Ethan (and another), Royanne (baseball player who believes she is related to Robert Redford’s character in _The Natural_), Emily (friend of CB), Joe Agate (marbles player), Naomi (nursed Olaf back to health). Others/Unseen: Little Red-Haired Girl (seen only once, in shadow), School Building, Miss Hagemeyer (nee Othmar, Linus’s beloved schoolteacher), Miss Helen Sweetstory (author of the “Six Bunny-Wunnies” series), Joe Shlabotnik (baseball player and CBs idol) …and probably more. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/53 "2005-12-08T20:09:30Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > I still don’t see an “envy character.” Erm, it seems obvious to me - Charlie Brown is Envy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/54 "2005-12-08T20:17:22Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Just for the heck of it, here’s a complete list of (seen) _Peanuts_ characters, as appears in _50 Years of Happiness: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz_ by Derrick Bang, published by the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa (which is currently holding an exibition of the 40th anniversary of _A Charlie Brown Christmas_): > …snip… > …and probably more. Wow, Thanks. It looked like a lot of the characters were from specials and not the strip. I forgot more than I thought. Jim ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/55 "2005-12-08T21:40:42Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > It looked like a lot of the characters were from specials and not the strip. All the characters I mentioned were from the comic strip, although some plots were often reused for animated specials. Looking back at your post, you did mention one character I forgot: World War II, the infamous cat next door. (Does the Red Baron count as an unseen character, seeing as he is just a figment of Snoopy’s imagination?) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/56 "2005-12-08T22:25:20Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > World War II III. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270/57 "2005-12-08T22:58:01Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > All the characters I mentioned were from the comic strip, although some plots were often reused for animated specials. Looking back at your post, you did mention one character I forgot: World War II, the infamous cat next door. (Does the Red Baron count as an unseen character, seeing as he is just a figment of Snoopy’s imagination?) As much as the “Kite eating tree” and the “School Building” I would say. We should include all 3. Jim [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-tuesday/334270.md?page=2)