Changing Seasons with Charlie Brown: My Cartoon Comic Comforter
No matter the circumstances, being a child can be tough. One has to learn how to act in social settings, figure out the ranking and pecking order, and try to avoid getting bullied, both inside and outside of school. I haven’t even mentioned the challenges of trying to retain information. But with all that, the real challenge of being a child is trying to figure out the correct way of acknowledging, expressing, and dealing with one’s emotions.
Depending on the kid, their grandparents, parents, clergy, or teachers assist them with understanding how to process feelings. But for me, it was Charlie Brown that guided me through the emotional roller-coaster of my childhood. Don’t get me wrong, all of those aforementioned individuals definitely assisted in my journey of self-discovery. But it was through the Peanuts characters created by Charles M. Schultz, that made me realize I was not alone in the world.
The Peanuts gang looked like an ordinary group of friends from the outside, but on the inside, they were discovering the nuances of childhood, human behavior, and the ways of society. Through Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy, Sally, Peppermint Patty, Linus, and the rest of the gang, I learned some pretty important lessons, especially during the holiday specials.
During the Christmas special, Charlie Brown is feeling down. He tries tell some of his friends, but they criticized him for feeling that way. So, he visits Lucy's psychiatric booth. She suggests that he direct the group's annual Christmas play to get him involved in the spirit of the season. He accepts. This discourages him even more. See while everyone else was buying and requesting gifts and putting up decorations all Charlie saw was the commercialization of the spirit of Christmas.
Realizing that he does not have to let what everyone else does ruin his Christmas, Charlie Brown buys a somewhat fragile tree, and takes it home to decorate. When he places an ornament on the tree the weight causes the tiny tree to bend to the ground. Believing he has killed the tree, Charlie Brown, disheartened, walks away. Realizing they were too hard on Charlie the others decided to give his tree a makeover.
When they were done, all the kids shouted, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!", and then sang with Charlie Brown joining in as snow began to fall. The Charlie Brown Christmas special spoke to the depression one can feel when everyone is feeling festive, and the true antidote for much sadness is ultimately expressing the love we have for others. I am not aware of any cartoon of the time tacking the subject of seasonal depression.
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the gang were the childhood psychologists we didn’t know we needed. If you look back on some of the other specials, you will see a theme of showing children how to recognize their emotions, identify what triggers them, validate their feelings, and teach coping skills. The sarcastic humor, the emotional honesty, and focus on the treatment of children was the perfect vehicle used to get young kids into the habit of self-realization and analysis.
I will forever be grateful to Charles M. Schulz. He was the creator of the comic strip Peanuts. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists in history, and cited by many cartoonists as a major influence, including Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield and Matt Groening, the creator of the Simpsons. Although this read speaks specifically to the impression that the Christmas special left on me, many of the life lessons taught by the Peanuts gang still resonate with me today. Happy Holidays don't forget to reflect and breathe.
