The Unlikely Power of a Peanuts Christmas: How One Cartoon Reshaped a Holiday

By the time the credits rolled on A Charlie Brown Christmas, the fate of the shiny metallic tree was sealed.An Unexpected InfluenceWhat makes this shift so amazing is that the special was a massive risk. It was the first time the Peanuts gang had ever been animated for a half-hour special. At the time, aluminum trees were at their peak popularity—marketed as the modern, sophisticated choice for the American home.However, the special’s creator, Charles Schulz, used the aluminum tree as a visual s