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(#1) The Special Presents The Bleakness Of A Holiday We're Expected To Love
Anyone who experiences seasonal depression, or doesn't enjoy Christmas, can probably understand how Charlie Brown feels in this special. All the food, family, shopping, pageantry, partying, gift-giving, and other holiday activities that fill some people with joy fill others with dread. Societal pressure to feel holiday cheer is intense and reminders of it are everywhere, from radio stations that play Christmas music nonstop to obligatory holiday parties throughout December.
Charlie Brown feels awful because he doesn't enjoy things the way other people do, and he feels alone and despondent. Viewers who revel in the holidays might wish he would cheer up more in the special. But Charlie Brown does the best he can during one of the hardest times of the year for people who are down.
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(#6) Even The Tree Is Sad
Even inanimate objects are sad in A Charlie Brown Christmas, including the droopy, dejected Christmas tree. While planning for the Christmas pageant, Lucy gets pushy and tells director Charlie Brown the play needs a giant, pink, shiny, aluminum Christmas tree. Charlie Brown instead buys the puniest real tree on the lot because he feels sorry for the wispy, unloved little thing - and of course, everyone shuns it.
It's not just that the other children dislike the Christmas tree; they think it directly ties into Charlie Brown's lack of character, which he takes personally. Not only does the anemic tree make him feel like he failed everyone, but he appears to believe he doesn't deserve love.
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(#4) Charlie Brown Dislikes The Commercialization Of Christmas
A theme throughout the special is Charlie Brown's deep resentment over the commercialization of Christmas. Everywhere he looks, he sees someone reveling in the more profit-focused aspects of Christmas rather than what makes the holiday truly meaningful. His sister, Sally, for example, hopes Santa will bring her money for Christmas, and his dog, Snoopy, takes part in a decorating contest in the hopes of winning cash.
By the end of the special, though, Charlie Brown's pals rally around him and his minuscule tree. And while they don't exactly turn their backs on the crass aspects of Christmas, they at least come together to celebrate their friendship.
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(#5) Everything Charlie Brown Touches Gets Ruined
Charlie Brown can't do anything right at Christmas - or at least, that's how he feels. He upsets his sister when he talks about the commercial aspects of the holiday she loves, angers his peers when he tries to make the Christmas play more meaningful, messes up Snoopy's Christmas lights, and terminates the tree he sees as a symbol of the holiday.
When he stacks the tree with ornaments, it collapses under the weight of its festive cheer. Charlie Brown laments, "I've [ruined] it. Augh! Everything I touch gets ruined." His comments are a spot-on distillation of how it feels to be down.
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(#2) Charlie Brown Thinks The Holidays Prove No One Likes Him
In the opening moments of the special, Charlie Brown tells Linus, "I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel." He's despondent because he's the only person he knows who hasn't received a Christmas card, but his malaise goes deeper than that. Throughout the special, Charlie Brown sees how happy Christmas makes his friends feel, but he doesn't feel the same way.
At the time, there was no name for the feeling he described, but he's talking about holiday blues or just sadness in general. The sentiment stays with Charlie Brown throughout the special, manifesting in new ways (anger, sadness, self-hate) until he - sort of, kind of - has fun with his friends during the finale.
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(#9) The Pace Makes The Audience Think About How They Feel
Mendelson said executives at CBS thought the pace of the show was glacial. They didn't understand why the episode didn't bounce through the narrative in the same way as other children's programming. But that pacing forces the audience to think about how the show makes them feel.
Charlie Brown could simply say, "I'm sad because Christmas is a drag. Take it away, Snoopy!" Instead, the special shows Charlie Brown plainly stating his feelings before walking silently through the snow (backed by a light jazz soundtrack). The slowed-down scene lets the audience think about why Charlie Brown is discouraged - and why they may be sad, too.
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About This Tool
Christmas often brings both expectations and challenges, from endless parties to housework. If you feel that simple activities are more difficult than normal during Christmas, you may be experiencing seasonal depression, just like Charlie Brown. Christmas is approaching, but Charlie Brown feels very disappointed. Although he could receive gifts at Christmas every year, he couldn’t be happy. Seasonal depression is much more common than you think, which approximately 14% of Americans have experienced.
Holidays can cause depression for many reasons. For example, you may not be able to go home during the holidays, or your financial situation is bad. If you have gone through a difficult period, it is difficult to see that others are full of joy in their lives. The random tool introduced 11 details about A Charlie Brown Christmas that can prove it was about seasonal depression, but people did not knew.
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