Good advice from the Peanuts gallery

Charles Schulz never liked Peanuts as the name of his beloved comic strip. He originally called the cartoon L’il Folks. Because of trademark issues, the publishing syndicate changed it to Peanuts, based on the “Peanut Gallery” in the popular TV show in the 1950s, The Howdy Doody Show. The Peanut Gallery was full of children who sang along with the puppet characters.

Peanuts just celebrated its 75th anniversary. The strip debuted on Oct. 2, 1950. Until his death in 2000, Schulz drew and wrote every one of the almost 18,000 comics. From a cast of characters made up entirely of children (and, of course, Snoopy and Woodstock), we have learned much about life with all of its ups and downs, joys and disappointments.

Schulz had a deep Christian faith and taught Sunday School at his church in Indiana. In 560 of his comics, he explicitly included scripture references and theological topics. Perhaps the most famous was the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, which aired on Dec. 9, 1965 and was watched by 15,500,000 people. When Schulz suggested including the memorable scene when Linus recites the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke, the animator objected and said, “That’s not done in a cartoon.” Schulz’s response was, “If we don’t, who will?” According to one source, “Themes like the meaning of Christmas, the concept of salvation, and the challenges of living a faithful life are woven throughout the Peanuts narrative. Through the characters’ actions and dialogues, Schulz subtly conveys Christian values such as love, kindness, forgiveness, and the importance of genuine relationships over superficial acts.”

Perhaps one of Schulz’s boldest moves was the introduction of Franklin, the little African-American boy who met Charlie Brown while they played on the beach. Franklin appeared on July 31, 1968, after Schulz received a letter from a school teacher who asked him to include a black character. She wrote the letter on April 15, 1968, eleven days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Schulz received pushback to Franklin, especially from Southern newspaper editors who objected to Charlie Brown inviting Franklin to visit him at his house and to Franklin attending the same school as the other children. When the president of the company that distributed the strip to newspapers asked Schulz to change the character, he replied, “Well, Larry, let’s put it this way: Either you print it just the way I drew it or I quit. How’s that?” Franklin remained.

The children in Peanuts are wise beyond their years, but they aren’t syrupy sweet. Charlie Brown is plagued with bad luck. Lucy is self-centered and crabby. Linus is insecure. Schroeder is obsessed with his music. Pig-Pen is, well, he’s a pig-pen. Despite their faults, or maybe because they are so real and relatable, the children in Peanuts have a lot to teach us. Twenty-five years after his death, Charles Schulz continues to share his faith and the importance of genuine relationships over superficial acts.