# That Peanuts Christmas song is a bummer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983 "2004-12-15T16:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/61 "2004-12-16T23:21:34Z")
> [@Winston Bongo](#): > > And this was a complete shock coming from a _Christmas_ special? With “Christmas” in the title? No, it wasn’t a shock, it was yet another kick in the teeth – something not exactly uncommon in December. > [@](#): > > Just seems a little harsh on the poor kid, that’s all. He’s fictional. I don’t think he cares. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/62 "2004-12-16T23:26:34Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > Actually Linus was quoting Luke. Could be. I haven’t read the Gospels in a while. I was just going on memory, wherein I seem to recall that Jesus’s “backstory” is far more developed in Matthew than in the rest of the Gospels. I bow to your knowledge. Of course, as they’re both synoptic Gospels, there may be a lot of overlap anyway. Now I’ll have to go home and double check my Bible. Another thing on the to do list… ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/63 "2004-12-16T23:31:51Z")
I can understand a non-Christian child’s – any child’s – attraction to such a special. First, it’s a cartoon involving children. Second, it’s a chance to see familar characters talking and moving – i.e., not frozen on newsprint. Third, it was a rare piece of kid-oriented TV programing at an hour dominated by, I dunno, “Sanford and Son.” ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/64 "2004-12-16T23:37:58Z")
_I don’t want her getting the idea that it’s okay to talk to a friend like that._ Yeah, well. Better she hear it with you alongside, when you can turn it around and make it a positive lesson in That Wasn’t Very Nice, Was It? She’s going to get an earful of it anyway, on the playground or bus. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/65 "2004-12-17T00:19:41Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Especially with the hot naked chick wearing the giant cellphone. Remember, she’s a Scientologist . . . “That’s _kind_ of a religion . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/66 "2004-12-17T00:25:16Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > Could be. I haven’t read the Gospels in a while. I was just going on memory, wherein I seem to recall that Jesus’s “backstory” is far more developed in Matthew than in the rest of the Gospels. I bow to your knowledge. Of course, as they’re both synoptic Gospels, there may be a lot of overlap anyway. > > Now I’ll have to go home and double check my Bible. Another thing on the to do list… There’s no overlap in the Christmas story between Luke and Matthew. In Matthew, the announcement of Jesus’s birth comes to Joseph in a dream; in Luke, the angel speaks to Mary. Matthew has the wisemen; Luke has the shepherds. From my recollection of the Peanuts special, Linus recites from [Luke 2: 8-14](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202:8-14;&version=9;): > [@](#): > > 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. > > 9 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. > > 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. > > 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. > > 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. > > 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, > > 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Then he says, “That’s what it’s all about, Charlie Brown.” ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/67 "2004-12-17T00:34:51Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > No, it wasn’t a shock, it was yet another kick in the teeth – something not exactly uncommon in December. A kick in the teeth? “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? _A kick in the teeth_?? Wow! And I thought Christians were supposed to be the overly sensitive ones. Oh dear, on preview I now see **Northern Piper** has just launched a full-scale assault by quoting the offending lines themselves. The teeth are flying! ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/68 "2004-12-17T00:34:56Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > There’s no overlap in the Christmas story between Luke and Matthew. In Matthew, the announcement of Jesus’s birth comes to Joseph in a dream; in Luke, the angel speaks to Mary. Matthew has the wisemen; Luke has the shepherds. > > From my recollection of the Peanuts special, Linus recites from [Luke 2: 8-14](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202:8-14;&version=9;): > Then he says, “That’s what it’s all about, Charlie Brown.” That’s it. That’s the quote. The best part for me is the dance scene to “Linus and Lucy.” Oh, okay, second best. The best is when they decorate the tree at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/69 "2004-12-17T00:39:21Z")
> [@MercyStreet](#): > > _I don’t want her getting the idea that it’s okay to talk to a friend like that._ > > Yeah, well. Better she hear it with you alongside, when you can turn it around and make it a positive lesson in That Wasn’t Very Nice, Was It? She’s going to get an earful of it anyway, on the playground or bus. That’s exactly what she did hear. Why would I need to expose her to things like that over and over and over again, though? There’s a lot of things I don’t want her to do, but that doesn’t mean we need to sit and watch those things on the idiot box while I sit there and go “that’s bad, don’t ever do that.” Sure, she’s going to HEAR it on the school bus someday, because kids are mean. The goal is that she won’t be participating in it. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/70 "2004-12-17T00:47:41Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > No, it wasn’t a shock, it was yet another kick in the teeth – something not exactly uncommon in December. To paraphrase last night’s episode of _South Park_, Christmas is the time of year when you’re told that Christmas comes just once a year. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/71 "2004-12-17T01:53:45Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > To paraphrase last night’s episode of _South Park_, Christmas is the time of year when you’re told that Christmas comes just once a year. Or as Bart Simpson put it, “This is the time of year when people of all faiths get together to worship Jesus.” ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/72 "2004-12-17T02:37:41Z")
> [@Winston Bongo](#): > > A kick in the teeth? “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? _A kick in the teeth_?? Wow! And I thought Christians were supposed to be the overly sensitive ones. Gee, you really put me in my place. It’s a good thing I’m so very interested in what you have to say. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/73 "2004-12-17T04:22:18Z")
To help keep your Nativity Gospel stories straight: Matthew: Focuses on the ancestors of Jesus, tells the story from Joseph’s point of view, includes the story of the Wise Men or Magi or astrologers. (Choose your favorite translation). Luke: Focuses on Mary and her viriginity. Starts with the Annunciation of John the Baptist, then of Jesus. Includes shepherds and staying in a manger because of the lack of proper lodging facilities in the greater Bethlehem area. Mark: Starts with Jesus as an adult John: Weird symbolic beginning where the word “Word” is repeated over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/74 "2004-12-17T04:53:26Z")
> [@davmilasav](#): > > THANK YOU!! I’ve missed that commercial since moving to TX. Now I can show my friends what the heck I’m talking about. I was recently informed by my mother that the commercial has been on the air this year. Score! (My sister and I confess to actually tearing up when we see it.) **Abby** , I think you’re overreacting. Yes, Charlie Brown’s friends dump on him a lot-but it’s not portrayed as a _positive_ thing at all! I can’t imagine anything more child-friendly yet not too cloying for an adult than the _Peanuts_ gang. To **Eve** ’s point, I recall in my high school child development class an assignment to view a children’s program and report on whether or not it was appropriate. One girl in particular (who, I suspect, bleached her brains along with her hair) complained about a Christmas special because it talked about God. The teacher looked at her kind of funny and she said, “Well, what if the parent doesn’t want their kid to believe that?” It just struck me as kind of odd. If you’re that deadset against mentioning god on TV, I doubt you’d celebrate Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/75 "2004-12-17T07:09:36Z")
I’m working retail in the music department of a big box bookstore this Christmas. I’ve already logged a solid 100+ hours of Christmas music. At this point the Charlie Brown stuff is the only thing we play that doesn’t make me want to kill people. Whenever “Linus And Lucy” comes on, I wonder if it isn’t the most utterly perfect three minutes of music ever recorded. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/76 "2004-12-17T07:13:41Z")
Perhaps Linus knew the quote from Luke from memory because, you know, they were putting on a nativity play. Also, Linus has above average intelligence. If you’re going to raz a kid for being smart on this board, better think twice… this board is full of Linuses, and we’re not little kids anymore who are gonna take it lying down with our blankie and with our thumb in our mouths. You keep up this dissing of Linus, and I’m gonna tell an administrator, and you’re gonna be in lots of trouble! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/77 "2004-12-17T14:17:15Z")
Point 1: A couple episodes ago on _Arrested Development_, they played the “Christmastime is Here” music every time one of the characters became sad or disappointed. And they had the characters walking with their heads hanging so far down, they were pretty much perpendicular to their bodies. It was hilarious. Point 2: Given all the Biblical quotations in _Peanuts_ and _A Charlie Brown Christmas_, I was quite surprised to read that Charles Schulz considered himself a secular humanist. I assume that back when he made _A Charlie Brown Christmas_, he was much more religious. Well, if so, it makes me admire him even more than I already did, and I admired the man immensely; he was always my favorite cartoonist as a kid and even now, when I can think of a dozen or more comic strips that I love, I still love Peanuts, and identify with the characters, more than any other strip. 12 Feb 2000 was a terrible day for me. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/78 "2004-12-17T14:32:52Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > That’s exactly what she did hear. > > Why would I need to expose her to things like that over and over and over again, though? There’s a lot of things I don’t want her to do, but that doesn’t mean we need to sit and watch those things on the idiot box while I sit there and go “that’s bad, don’t ever do that.” > > Sure, she’s going to HEAR it on the school bus someday, because kids are mean. The goal is that she won’t be participating in it. It’s just that this comes across as mother-bird sheltering, not good rearing or lesson-teaching. To remove “Charlie Brown Christmas” because there’s people behaving poorly in it is just somewhat weird. I mean, if you think she’s going to be that influenced by people behaving badly in it, why don’t you think she’s also going to be influenced by people behaving nicely in it? Are you scared she won’t be able to figure out which ones she should emulate? The whole lesson of the thing is that at Christmas you’re often surrounded by griping and stress and commercialization but you should remember that it’s really about the baby Jesus and being together with people. You’re completely missing the point by censoring it because of one little scene in it. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/79 "2004-12-17T16:30:41Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > Perhaps Linus knew the quote from Luke from memory because, you know, they were putting on a nativity play. > > Also, Linus has above average intelligence. On the other hand, when Lucy assigns Linus the role of shepherd, he complains that he can’t memorize that many lines that quickly. We’ve just discovered another sin of the CB Xmas: Inconsistent characerization. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983/80 "2004-12-17T16:49:27Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > On the other hand, when Lucy assigns Linus the role of shepherd, he complains that he can’t memorize that many lines that quickly. > > We’ve just discovered another sin of the CB Xmas: Inconsistent characerization. Eh, well, he was just complaining out of laziness. He knew perfectly well he could do it. 😉 Reminds me of one Sunday Peanuts strip where a group of kids is standing, and in each panel one of them is reciting their part for the Christmas play, and in each panel Linus is mumbling about how he’s doomed, he can’t remember his line, etc. Then Lucy, standing by him, whispers something like “You better remember right now, or when we get home I’m going to pound you good!” and Linus shouts “THE STAR THAT SHONE AT BETHLEHEM STILL SHINES FOR US TODAY!” (or something similar) and passes out, and Lucy whispers something like “Merry Christmas, you blockhead.” It’s touching. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-peanuts-christmas-song-is-a-bummer/279983.md?page=5)