What A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Taught This Military Family
By Movieguide® Contributor
Edie Melson and her family felt down after her son was deployed, but watching A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS together taught them a few things about their situation.
“Our family always loved viewing Christmas specials together,” Melson recalled. “I did my best to join in the fun with our two youngest sons, but everyone could tell my heart just wasn’t in it. So I sent up a quick prayer one evening, right before we sat down to watch A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, asking God to help me through. And did He ever! He used that specific show to teach me some lessons about Christmas and having a son deployed.”
In the movie, Charlie searches for the real meaning of Christmas, which isn’t commercialism and grandeur. It’s about a baby born in a stable and beauty in humble offerings.
Melson listed 7 things she learned from the special:
1) Feeling down during Christmas isn’t unusual
“Early on, Lucy reminds Charlie Brown that he’s not the only one who gets down during the holidays. God reminded me that it’s normal for military families too—especially when someone they love won’t be home.”
2) Turn to your friends
Charlie Brown did exactly the right thing. He told his friends how he was feeling. And sure enough, one of them came up with a suggestion to help him out. Likewise, when I reached out to my friends while our son was gone, they helped me come up with ways to lift my spirits.”
3) Get Involved
When you get involved with others, you’re less focused on your own problems. You have a purpose as you serve.
4) Avoid the commercial side
“I don’t think there’s anyone out there who isn’t aware of the commercial side of Christmas. It’s often too big to fight, but we can learn to avoid it. Find ways to work around the spend-spend-spend of the season and stay connected with friends and family,” Melson says.
5) Look for magic in unexpected places
Melson said, “Charlie Brown found it in a tiny, scruffy tree. I found it that year in an abandoned bird’s nest. Our youngest son brought it inside to me—so proud of his gift. Now, every year it nestles in our Christmas tree beside the blown glass and handmade offerings.”
Author Stephen Copeland said Charlie “is unwilling to play the game everyone else is playing and seeks something deeper: true beauty, true meaning. In a sense, he has already de-masked the world’s flashy facades and addictive games, something most fail to do, but is now left with his sadness, something most fear to fully feel. Not Charlie Brown. He confronts the deep emptiness that he feels in such a joyous time of Christmas” which leads him to a scraggly little tree.
READ MORE: HOW A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS INSPIRED KRISTIN CHENOWETH’S NEW ALBUM’ HAPPINESS IS … CHRISTMAS’
6) Trust your instincts
When Charlie found the little scraggly tree, he lost sight of his instincts. It wasn’t until his friends came to validate his choice that he believed in himself again.
7) Don’t forget why we celebrate
“Ultimately we need to remember why we celebrate Christmas at all. When we honor the love God showed us through a tiny baby, it puts everything in perspective.”
“In what may be the last place a passage of Scripture gets a sincere reading in all of primetime TV, Linus recites Luke 2:8-14 center stage in a single spotlight,” The Gospel Centered Family wrote. “Beneath all the hyper-exaggerated veneer, Christmas is really about something as simple as the birth of a baby (albeit a birth announced by angels and the glory of the Lord). It’s the emotional turning point, the moment of quiet clarity.”
Who knew a 1965 cartoon could bring so much insight and comfort?
READ MORE: WHY CHARLES SCHULZ FOUGHT FOR FAITH IN A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS