It’s the holiday season, which means the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Charlie Brown Christmas album may be playing on repeat. Charles Schulz’ Peanuts’ Christmas special first aired in 1965. Now a holiday exhibit in Richmond focuses on the iconic comic.
Schulz was the father of five children. He read them Hans Christian Anderson’s Christmas tale of a fir tree and it helped inspire his own holiday story. With a tree that was a little different.
“The sad little pathetic Christmas tree with barely one branch that can stand the weight of an ornament,” describes Karen Sherry, curator at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
The museum in Richmond is currently hosting the “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!” exhibition. It includes holiday related Peanut comic strips, memorabilia, and a short documentary about the making of the iconic television special.
“Peanuts was such an important part of our pop culture, our kind of cultural history for half a century. Charles Schulz produced his first Peanuts cartoon in 1950,” said Sherry. “Peanuts occupies a very special and nostalgic spot in our hearts.”
Schulz would go on to produce 17,000 more Peanut comics over the years.
And because of the Christmas special, the Peanuts nostalgia is especially strong this time of year. Although, Sherry says, Schulz doesn’t romanticize the holidays.
“He addresses the frustrations we might feel, he addresses the commercialism of the holiday,” she adds.
The traveling exhibition runs through January 12th at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.