In 1965, Charles Schulz, a devout Christian and creator of the Peanuts comic strip, was asked to create a Christmas special for CBS featuring the Peanuts Characters. He agreed with one requirement, that they allow him to include the story of the birth of Jesus. Although the stations executives were hesitant and tried to convince him otherwise, Schulz was insistent. As a result, for the past 50 plus years, millions of people have watched and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and heard the story of Jesus and "what Christmas is all about."
It wasn't until a few ears back that I realized a "hidden message" in the film. Linus, a child who seems to have some insecurities as he carries a security blanket with him at all times. In fact, Linus NEVER drops his blanket, except once While sharing the message of "what Christmas is all about " Linus drops his blanket at the exact moment he says the words, "fear not!"
In this seemingly innocent moment, Linus delivers a powerful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. We are to "fear not", for Jesus is born. We needn't rely on material things for security, we have God with us, "Immanuel" (Matthew 1:23) Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior - the true meaning of Christmas.
Awhile back, someone informed me, indignantly so, that Linus picks up his blanket at the end of the speech so my interpretation must be wrong. Well, he was right, Linus does pick up his blanket at the end of his speech. However, he "drops" it again later...
Amid big, bright, colorful, shiny artificial trees, Charlie Brown chose the least of these, a little, wooden tree with just a few branches. Shortly thereafter, Linus uses his blanket to wrap about the base of the tree and says, "Mavbe it iust needs a little love" In that moment. the tree "awakens" stands tall and firm. A reminder that no matter who we are, how many mistakes we've made, "a little love" can make all the difference . Let's strive to "fear not" (Luke 2:10) and "love one another" (John 13:34), not just at Christmastime, but the whole year through.
Borrowed from Charlene M. Speer & 'Christian Life Minister' on Facebook...
The Music is great as well.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS - COMPLETE SOUNDTRACK- VINCE GUARALDI TRIO
https://www.bitchute.com/video/TlCaikbqJjFL/
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the eighth studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (later credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio). The album was released in December 1965 in the U.S. by Fantasy Records and was Guaraldi's final studio album for the label. It is the soundtrack to the Christmas television special of the same name.
Guaraldi was contacted by television producer Lee Mendelson to compose music for a documentary on the comic strip Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Although the special went unaired, these selections were released in 1964 as Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Coca-Cola commissioned a Christmas special based on Peanuts in 1965 and Guaraldi returned to score the special.
Guaraldi composed most of the music, though he included versions of traditional carols such as "O Tannenbaum". He recorded some of the score at Whitney Studio in Glendale, California, then re-recorded some of it at Fantasy Records Studios in San Francisco with a children's choir from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in nearby San Rafael. The sessions ran late into the night, with the children rewarded with ice cream afterward.
Bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli were credited as performing on the album. It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.
On May 10, 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album quintuple platinum for sales of 5 million copies. In November 2014, it was the 10th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era.
Absolutely!