A Very Special Christmas

By Jeff Finley

What’s your favorite Christmas special?

By Christmas special, I’m not referring to a special sale at a store or special music at a church service. My understanding of this phrase matches the perspective of Time Out magazine that recently noted, “Since the days of Bing Crosby, Christmas specials have been a television staple,” and a special can be “an established program deviating from the narrative to spread some seasonal cheer or a variety show hosted by the pop star du jour.”

Hallmark movies are the ideal Christmas specials for some people. The greeting card/TV production company and its imitators seem to suggest that romance is the reason for the season. Audiences apparently crave tales of career women who return to their childhood hometowns (or other charming small towns due to car trouble or work assignments) and meet handsome bakers and Christmas tree salesmen who are much better matches for them than their coldhearted fiancés back in the big city. I’ve also learned from these movies that countless members of European royal families temporarily hide their true identities as they befriend and then fall in love with unsuspecting Americans.

In contrast, my Christmas special tastes go back to my childhood when I knew I was about to watch an amazing program when the word SPECIAL started spinning on the screen. I delighted in animated treats such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Year Without a Santa Claus,” “Yogi’s First Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “A Claymation Christmas Celebration,” “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Somehow the prehistoric Flintstone family managed to have several Christmas specials despite their B.C. (before Christ) setting.

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“‘Fear not’ is a message we all could use in these uncertain times.”

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One animated Christmas special stands out significantly from the rest. Before the special  — featuring characters from a newspaper comic strip — made its broadcast debut in 1965, the show’s creators and TV network executives reportedly considered it a failure that would only be aired once. After all, the show seemed slower and less exciting than other Christmas specials, and the anti-commercialization message was odd for a broadcast airing commercials. And what’s with using jazz for the soundtrack of a children’s show?

Of course, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” wasn’t a failure at all. Its big differences from other Christmas specials of the time turned out to be what made this special very special. The biggest difference may be the prominent reading of Scripture.

Click here to watch the scene in which a frustrated Charlie Brown cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” The response of his friend Linus includes reciting Luke 2:8–14 from the King James Version. As Linus relays the angel’s instruction for the shepherds to “Fear not,” he drops his security blanket. After sharing from the Bible, Linus says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

“Fear not” is a message we all could use in these uncertain times. Like Linus, we sometimes turn to physical items for security. Of course, what we really need is the “good tidings of great joy” about “a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

As we head into Christmas Day, let’s make the holiday a very special Christmas by remembering what the celebration is really all about. Now that we’ve heard the passage in the king’s English, let’s conclude this special article by reading it in another Bible version, the New Living Translation:

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others — the armies of heaven — praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

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