The following statement may make Baby Boomers–and Gen Xers–cry “Good Grief!,” but this week marks the 60th anniversary of the premiere of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Debuting on CBS on Dec. 9. 1965 (pre-empting The Munsters), the very first animated special based on Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip was watched by an amazing 45 percent of the viewing audience. Over the following six decades A Charlie Brown Christmas has aired nearly every year since and become a permanent part of America’s holiday pop culture.
Along with such memorable moments as Charlie Brown choosing a tiny, woebegone tree for the gang’s Yuletide pageant and Linus’s nearly-excised recitation of Luke 2: 8-14, the scene that everyone remembers is when the kids turn their show rehearsal into a impromptu dance recital. As the jazzy “Linus & Lucy” by The Vince Guaraldi Trio plays (performed on-screen by Schroeder, Pig-Pen, and Snoopy), viewers are treated to the most unique and idiosyncratic moves this side of Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.
In case you’re having trouble placing some of the pint-size terpsichoreans, the top-to-bottom roll call includes:
Shermy (“The Sleepwalker”)
Frieda (“The Arm Swinger”)
Linus (“The Blanket Boogie”)
Sally (“The Ska March”)
Violet (“The Uppercut”)
Twins 3 and 4 (“Hands Up, Heads Bobbing”)
and, lastly, 5 (“Shoulders Up, Head Nodding”)
This cartoon was made well before such regulars as Franklin, Marcie, and Woodstock debuted (Peppermint Patty’s first appearance came during production). As such, younger fans may not be familiar with the OG Peanuts company featured here. Shermy and Violet were among the first half-dozen characters introduced in the strip, with Frieda and her “naturally curly hair” coming along a few years later. As for siblings 5, 4, and 3, well…check out my 50th anniversary salute to the special for the backstory on this numerically nomenclatured family.
To mark this beloved Christmas classic’s diamond anniversary, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us which Peanuts character’s moves are your favorite, as well as which one’s most closely resemble your own. Leave your confessions…er, comments below, and remember to keep on dancing like nobody’s watching.