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Merry over-commercialized Christmas

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Other Views

It was 44 years ago when "A Charlie Brown Christmas'" debuted on CBS. One of the most beloved Christmas shows has Charlie worrying about not being excited as the holiday approaches, which leads Linus to question his friend's sanity. But Charlie's upset about the commercialization of Christmas. Even Snoopy decorates his doghouse in a holiday-lights contest.

Lucy suggests that Charlie direct the school Christmas show after which chaos reigns (to the great music by Vince Guaraldi). Charlie Brown tosses down his megaphone and asks if anyone knows the meaning of Christmas. Linus takes center stage to recite the story of the holy night and the birth of Jesus, from Luke 2:8-14, ending with, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."

Charlie Brown is happier, and so are we, though CBS was scared to death to air it in 1965 because of the overt references to the real reason for the season. If Christmas was over-, commercialized in 1965, it is more soi-«today. Look at the airing of the show itself, which was on ABC Tuesday;:, night. Many scenes from the original were cut. including one of Charlie Brown writing a letter to Santa for his sister Sally, Lucy asking Schroeder if he can play any Christmas songs on his piano and the gang tossing snowballs and catching snowflakes on their tongues. Of course, these scenes don't propel the plot but do capture what it's like to be a kid at Christmastime.

In one of the great ironies, the show was edited so ABC could fit in four blocks of advertising, which did, in effect, over commercialize a show whose theme was over commercialization.

Linus tells Charlie Brown that Christmas is a racket and hints ominously that the holiday is controlled by an big Eastern syndicate. But there's no secret or conspiracy to it. Retail stores have always used the Christmas season to boost their sales. In a New York Times column, Adam Cohen writes that by the 1920s, "the retail industry had adopted Christmas as its own."

Christmas has always been a kind of schizophrenic holiday, reflecting the religious (Jesus) and the secular (Santa Claus). Of course those who are not Christian see Christmas as just another day derived, as Cohen writes, from Saturnalia, the Roman heathens' celebration of winter.

For those who see Christmas as Linus does, the sheer volume of commercial overload, from ads on TV to Santas at every mall, can be disheartening as Charlie Brown well knows. The true meaning of Christmas, however, as Linus reminds us, is always there. Sometimes we just have to be reminded, and Charlie Brown's search illustrates this nicely even if ABC abuses the show as subservient to its advertising.

(This editorial first appeared in the Herald-Bulletin, a daily newspaper covering the Madison County, Indiana.)

For those who see Christmas as Linus does, the sheer volume of commercial overload, from ads on TV to Santas at every mall, can be disheartening as Charlie Brown well knows,



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© 2010 Turtle Mountain Star Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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