Premiered on CBS on December 9th, 1965.
No matter how many times I've seen this, I always take time to watch it again every Christmas season. A few years ago I bought the Blu-ray containing A Charlie Brown Christmas along with the Halloween and Thanksgiving specials.
I can barely remember it, but when I was two or three years old CBS had scheduled the Christmas special for broadcast. But a football game went over long and completely pre-empted A Charlie Brown Christmas. I was furious! Mom said I was really crying about not getting to see Charlie Brown. It bothered Mom too. Enough so that she called CBS affiliate WFMY in neighboring Greensboro to complain about it. I don't know what she said to them but they gave her the home phone number of the station's general manager! Mom let him have it, telling him it was wrong to advertise Charlie Brown and then yank it away from all the children because of a football game. The way Mom put it, I get the feeling that she wasn't the only irate parent calling the station that night. And parents across America were probably calling their own local CBS affiliates too. In the end the network rescheduled A Charlie Brown Christmas to an airdate ideal for viewers of all ages and the kiddies got to see it after all.
I treasure knowing that. For all that happened between my mother and I (something I explore at length in my book Keeping the Tryst), there are anecdotes scattered here and there which prove that Mom wasn't the bad person I went so long believing that she was. A parent doesn't do something like that if there wasn't love for his or her child. I very much appreciate that.
Well, happy anniversary Charlie Brown. Someone said during your special's production that they'll be watching this for a hundred years. You're well on your way to reaching that goal. I hope to be around to see it when it comes :-)
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