January 2026 Devo - Keep It Real

Christmas is over for this year but hopefully the reminders about loving and giving will prepare us for the new year ahead. One of those lessons came via a “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”  I’ve always personally connected with this simple yet profound 60 year-old TV children’s special.  Charles Schulz was a genius in using comic strip characters to depict real people experiencing real life.  Our current infatuation with so-called “reality TV” is far less real than the truths woven throughout his first animated prime-time program.

His added touches of realism were challenged by network executives.  Instead of hiring proven adult actors, Schulz used real children to provide the voices of his characters, most of whom had little or no acting experience. He also refused to cue the audience with a laugh track, the common practice of that day, insisting that if it was funny, people would laugh without prompting.  His decision to feature a jazz piano soundtrack was also wrong for a kid’s show, according to the network programmers.  A huge audience then and now, rave reviews, and several awards, including an Emmy and a Peabody, have long since silenced his critics.

The premise of the program is Charlie’s dissatisfaction with the commercialization of Christmas, so the stripped-down style of the animation, real children’s voices, and simple soundtrack all suited Charlie’s quest for the real meaning of Christmas.  Perhaps the most controversial moment of the show is when Linus quotes from Luke 2:8-14, the biblical story of Christ’s birth, ending the scene with his own endorsement: “that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”  Again the network questioned the political correctness of such a strong Christian message.

The opposition Schultz faced then would be far worse now.  Many are trying to remove Christ from Christmas and to revamp the whole season into just a winter holiday.  Using heightened immigration as an excuse, we are ironically undermining the foundation that has made us strong, prosperous, and attractive to the rest of the world.

The real reason for the season could soon be completely replaced with meaningless myths of Santa, flying reindeer and talking snowmen, all trying to convince us to buy more stuff to make us less happy.  The true story of Jesus must remain the reason for Christmas.  Jesus really did live, He really did die for us, and He really did rise from the dead.  When we really understand and accept these truths, then this season, the coming new year, and the rest of our life here and beyond, all suddenly have real meaning.  Linus said it best: “that’s what Christmas is all about!”