We’re in the countdown to the Thanksgiving feast. Mothers, grandmothers, nay anyone in charge of the meal is busily prepping dishes for Thursday’s big event, drying breadcrumbs on every counter for stuffing, and warning teenagers away from scarfing down the wrong food. Two days before the holiday is a bad time to wander into the kitchen. The latest meme has a family asking what’s for dinner and mom yelling, “You’ll eat Thursday!”
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 20, 1973, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving aired for the first time on CBS. This 25-minute special has worked its way into the collective Gen X memory.
In the early '70s, CBS was in the market for another Peanuts holiday special. The success of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in 1966 left television executives looking for more.
According to producer Lee Mendelson, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz asked a simple question: What would happen if the kids cooked Thanksgiving dinner?
Charming chaos, set to a Vince Guaraldi theme, was the result. After he fails to kick the football (again!), Charlie Brown’s plans for Thanksgiving at Grandma’s run into a snag: his friend, Peppermint Patty, calls and invites herself over to dinner, along with her sidekick, Marcie, and the gang’s friend, Franklin. Poor Charlie Brown gets steamrolled the same way he falls for Lucy’s promise to hold the football.
Luckily, Linus is there to save the day, with the perfect solution: Have the kids over for lunch, then go to Grandma's. Yes, it was the first Friendsgiving, though Merriam-Webster wouldn’t start calling it that until 2007.
Soon, Charlie (who can’t cook) recruits Snoopy and Woodstock. Their preparations are backed by the only adult voice in the special. Composer Vince Guaraldi sings “Little Birdie” as Snoopy sets up the Ping-Pong dining table and gets into a fight with a lawn chair.
This special is also known as the first holiday special to include the Peanuts crew's black friend, Franklin. In the early 2000s, some were arguing about whether the seating of Franklin on one side of the table indicated latent racism. Robin Reed, the young black actor who voiced Franklin, said that the scene represented inclusion “…through the innocent eyes of kids.”
Brash Peppermint Patty sets up my favorite scene, when she says, “Before we’re served, shouldn’t we say grace?” Little philosopher Linus responds with thirty seconds that sum up the day:
In the year 1621, the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast. They invited the great Indian chief Massasoit, who brought ninety of his brave Indians and a great abundance of food. Governor William Bradford and Captain Miles Standish were honored guests. Elder William Brewster, who was a minister, said a prayer that went something like this: 'We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land. We thank God for the opportunity to create a new world for freedom and justice."
As everyone knows, the solemnity doesn’t last long. Snoopy lifts the silver cover off the main course with a flourish to reveal a feast of buttered toast, jelly beans, popcorn, and pretzels.
Just like any adult Thanksgiving today, there’s drama galore: accusations, arguments, and finally, apologies. As in any TV Thanksgiving, Grandma comes to the rescue.
Recommended: Outside of the Spotlight, North Carolina Mountain Towns Are Rising From the Mud
Even if there is no Grandma in your family or family of friends, may your preparations this year be calm and your meal, whether it be turkey or buttered toast, perfect.
Get a jump on your black Friday shopping! Treat yourself to a VIP membership or gift it to your family. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member