I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for one of the great Christmas classics of my generation, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” In the recent PBS documentary about Charles Schulz, he described the difficulties he had with CBS — they wanted a laugh track, they were nervous about having children do the voices, they didn’t want all that religion stuff, and they just hoped the production wouldn’t lose money.

The rest is history. It became one of the most popular and beloved Christmas specials of all time — the baby boom’s answer to “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

Now, Busted Halo has posted a reflection on the true meaning of this memorable piece of television, by Greg Ruehlman:

Charlie Brown Christmas is fantastic from its opening notes. The music, performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, still glistens as brightly today as it did four decades ago, thanks especially to Guaraldi’s masterful jazz piano. The brightest spots are original songs—like the twinkling gem “Skating”—but even the standard arrangements sound superior to other versions. For instance, I don’t know what Purgatory looks like, but I’m confident Kenny G’s rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” is somehow involved. In Guaraldi’s hands, however, the tired old song transforms into “My Little Drum,” a cool, syncopated, and gorgeously understated piece, accented by the lovely harmony of humming children.

Those children, so lovably wry and neurotic, are the heart and soul of A Charlie Brown Christmas. In a snowy world free of grownups, the late, great Schulz perfectly distilled the absurdities, insecurities and existential anxieties of adulthood in his young characters’ precocious exchanges. Outspoken Lucy operates a stand where she dispenses psychiatric advice instead of lemonade. Filthy Pigpen solemnly swears to run a clean inn for the school Christmas play, despite his “outward appearance.” And Charlie Brown, the boy Everyman, frets that Christmas is becoming a mercantile monstrosity. He watches with disgust as his little sister asks Santa for money, and as his dog Snoopy garishly decorates his doghouse for a “Spectacular Supercolossal Neighborhood Lights and Display Contest.”

While A Charlie Brown Christmas gently scolds America for its exploitation of the season, it really centers on the education of its main character. By letting commercialism spoil his Christmas, Charlie Brown becomes the prototypical “Scrooge in reverse.” As Linus wisely tells him, “You’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.” Charlie must learn how to prevent these annoyances from blinding him to the true meaning of Christmas. And this holiday special stands alone by actually stating what that true meaning is.

Read the rest and go out and get the DVD and sniff back tears when Linus steps onto that stage and recites the nativity story from Luke. It gets me every time.