The holidays are always celebrated with a bang in Peanuts, with Christmas especially being a notable part of the comic strip and the brand's history. From the annual Christmas comic strips that occur every December to the wild amount of Christmas decorations with Peanuts characters on them - as well as the classic 1965 animated TV special - Christmas is almost synonymous with Peanuts, much like Halloween.
Peanuts hilariously showed the unique reactions and performances of the Peanuts kids in Christmas plays and programs as well as how they gave and received gifts. Moreover, their takes on Santa Claus were always given in addition to Snoopy's unique celebrations of the holiday - the Snoopy way, of course. Every Christmas-themed Peanuts strip is a true delight for fans new and old.
10
"Mary Christmas"
December 21st, 1980
Sally is shown writing letters quite often, whether it be to actual humans like her grandma or to fictional characters like Harry Potter. When Sally is writing a letter to Santa Claus, she decides to change gears after hearing that Santa Claus' wife goes by the name Mary Christmas. Writing to her fellow female, Sally applauds Mary Christmas for keeping her birth name instead of using her married name.
That Sally is willing not to write to Santa Claus, the one who is responsible for giving her presents, but instead to write to his wife shows how much admiration and excitement Sally feels for her. To upstage Santa Claus requires some big guns, which Mary Christmas apparently has in Sally's eyes. Charlie Brown, on the other hand, can't help but be bemused about the situation.
9
"How Gauche!"
December 27th, 1970
While everyone knows about kissing under the mistletoe, fighting under the mistletoe is something completely different. Under the mistletoe, Snoopy tries to kiss Lucy (something he tries to do even when there is no mistletoe around). However, she is unsurprisingly not having it, waiting for someone more important - someone like her crush-to-end-all-crushes, Schroeder. Snoopy gets his feelings hurt by her rude dismissal, so they get into an all-out brawl.
At that very inopportune moment, Schroder walks past, totally put off by her aggressive behavior, acknowledging how unromantic and "gauche" it is to fight beneath mistletoe. All ends well for Snoopy though, as he finally gets his kiss from Lucy. This comic strip does not mark the first or last time that Lucy and Snoopy got into a fight, but it is among the few fights that have happened in front of Schroeder, embarrassing the usually shameless Lucy.
8
"No Problem"
December 20th, 1983
Sally, dressed as an angel for her role in the Christmas play, has to put on her coat before leaving, but there's one problem: her wings. No issue for Sally though, as she powers through and just throws her coat on like normal, even if it does make her look like she has a gigantic hump on her back. Sally is not one to crumble at the sight of a tiny issue, ready to problem-solve in her own unique way.
A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired on CBS on December 9th, 1965.
While Sally practices and practices her one line of "Hark" for the Christmas play, with multiple comic strips from the month showing her discussing her part with Charlie Brown, she ends up choking on stage. Instead of saying her line of "Hark," she fumbles and says "Hockey Stick" instead. She is mortified at her mistake and gets laughed off the stage, but at least her costume is perfect.
7
"'Tis the Season to Be Sarcastic"
December 22nd, 1992
Peppermint Patty can be a bit absentminded, to say the least. Knowing that quality of hers, it is not too surprising that she can be scatterbrained around the holidays and neglect some important holiday duties. For instance, she forgets to buy Christmas cards as well as stamps, so she asks her more organized pal Marcie for some.
Rather than take the supplies and mail her letters from home, Peppermint Patty follows the more lazy path and just hands Marcie the card back as Marcie's Christmas card from her. Marcie is fully aware that Peppermint Patty is not the most in line with the spirit of the holiday season and makes it known. However, Peppermint Patty makes sure to get in a little jab at her best pal. While it is always nice to receive a holiday card, Marcie finds out the hard way that it is decidedly less so when it's handled Peppermint Patty's way.
6
"Not in a Microwave Oven!"
December 25th, 1979
Linus tells Charlie Brown about how his Christmas went, with his family having a traditional Christmas, chestnuts included. However, Linus refuses to count the roasted chestnuts his family had at Christmas as traditional because they did not roast their chestnuts over a fire or even in an oven. Instead, they used a microwave oven to roast their chestnuts. There doesn't seem to be any Bing Crosby songs about chestnuts roasting in a microwave, so one can see where Linus is coming from.
This comic strip is aided by some historical context as well, with microwaves becoming commercially available in the late '60s and becoming widely used by households all over in the 1970s, the decade this comic strip was published. Consequently, Linus' disappointment with using a microwave rather than a fire would point to his reluctance to accept the newfangled technology that may be more convenient but definitely less traditional in his eyes.
5
"For the Round-Headed Kid"
December 25th 1989
While Snoopy undoubtedly loves Charlie Brown, he does not always treat him the best. He has thrown his supper dish at him before and is not always super appreciative towards Charlie Brown, even when he tries to go above and behind for Snoopy. The beagle's lack of thoughtfulness extends to the holiday season, as seen in this comic strip.
Snoopy gives Charlie Brown a Christmas present, only to ruin the sentimentality by addressing the card to "the round-headed kid," not even remembering his owner's name. One can appreciate Snoopy's generosity, since he remembered to give Charlie Brown a gift in the first place, but to not even remember his name is not a good look for the usually lovable pup. It understandably hurts Charlie Brown's feelings that his own dog can't remember his name, but let's be real: this is nothing new for Charlie Brown.
4
"Sing, You Blockhead!"
December 24th, 1963
Linus, who is supposed to be singing "Jingle Bells", manages to sneak in a lecture about how holiday programs can cause worries and tensions in kids. Angered by Linus' overt lecturing, Lucy yells at him to start singing, which he quickly obliges, finally going into "Jingle Bells". But rewinding to the beginning of the storyline paints this whole singing ordeal as partly Lucy's fault because she signed Linus up for the program to sing without his knowledge - and knowing that he couldn't sing.
When it aired, A Charlie Brown Christmas won both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.
It was bound to be a disaster based on the beginnings alone. Linus even says that having to sing in the program is destroying his holiday season, which are pretty strong words but apt for the poor kid. Singing in front of the PTA is what really makes him a nervous wreck, leading him to inform the crowd of how much this program has ruined his holiday season and surely has for other kids as well.
3
"Those Stupid Reindeer"
December 23rd, 1966
Worries are pretty common around the holidays, with some yuletide concerns being buying presents, finding the time needed to do everything that needs to get done, and stressful gatherings. One thing that most do not tend to worry about is Santa's reindeer stepping on stomachs; that's a first.
However, that is just what Snoopy worries about at this time of year after he had a harrowing experience of Santa landing on his doghouse roof at two in the morning. His reindeer kept stepping on Snoopy's belly. There's only so much room on the top of a doghouse, so the reindeer have got to step somewhere. Santa on one's roof may be the highlight of a person's life for some, but for Snoopy, it's a plain nuisance and also a bit painful for the pup's stomach.
2
"It Isn't Very Practical"
December 27th, 1985
Writing a letter to his brother Snoopy to talk about their Christmases, the desert-dwelling Spike confides that he bought himself a holiday gift that he has always wanted but is probably not the most practical: a sled. That new sled of his probably won't be used as much as Spike would like, but at least he finally got the gift he had always wanted.
Spike is a little bit like the Charlie Brown of his family in that he always gets the short end of the stick. Likewise, he even has a bit of a tragic backstory that explains why he has exiled himself to the desert in the first place. As a result, it is finally a win for Spike when readers get to see him have a Christmas present that he has always wanted and that makes him happy, even if he won't be able to use it all the time... or maybe at all.
1
"I Wonder Where He Got All the Decorations..."
December 15th, 1991
Putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it with lights, ornaments, and tinsel is a beloved Christmas tradition held by many who celebrate the holiday. As a result, it is no surprise that Charlie Brown and his family celebrate the holiday with a nicely decorated tree, a tradition that Snoopy also tries to follow.
Snoopy has his own tiny Christmas tree to match his small stature with decorations that make Charlie Brown look in awe... until he finds out where Snoopy got the tree decorations from: the family tree! A whole chunk of Christmas ornaments is missing from the Brown family tree, which looks a bit of a mess thanks to Snoopy's thievery. Snoopy's tree may be the most beautiful in Peanuts history, but it is no doubt just another example of Snoopy's fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants personality.
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
Created by
Charles M. Schulz
Cast
Christopher Shea
, Kathy Steinberg
, Bill Melendez
, Sally Dryer
, Peter Robbins
, Noah Schnapp
, Hadley Belle Miller
, Mariel Sheets
, Lisa DeFaria
, Venus Omega Schultheis
Character(s)Charlie Brown
, Snoopy
, Lucy van Pelt
, Linus van Pelt
, Sally Brown
, Pig-Pen
, Marcie (Peanuts)
, Peppermint Patty
, Woodstock
Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
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English (US) ·