Depression in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel. I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.” These are the first lines uttered by the titular character of this joyful family tale. In the following scene, Charlie Brown visits Lucy in her fake “Psychiatric Help” stand. Lucy tells Charlie that he needs to do more by becoming involved in activities. This advice is half correct, as exercise and getting out of bed are important when battling various forms of depression. But it’s half-wrong in that it doesn’t get to the true root issue of Charlie Brown—his disillusionment with the materialism and artificiality of modern Christmas. This can be seen with Lucy’s desire for money for her psychiatric services, Sally’s letters to Santa for cash, and the multitude of plastic trees available for purchase. Charlie perceives the hollowness of the Christmas celebrations and sees right through it. When JOY and HOPE and MERRY drown the public during the holiday season, it can make the sadness and frustration all the more stark and painful. 

In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge has a similar inability to grasp the meaning and purpose of the Christmas season. He views it with the same pessimistic attitude as any other day of the year. Christmas is an excuse to get out of obligations like work. He rudely rejects the carolers outside his residence and won’t return a “Merry Christmas” to his nephew. It’s only when looking outside himself that Scrooge understands Christmas. Charlie Brown’s looks within at his own fears and depression only worsen his struggles. It’s when Charlie is confronted with a poignant recitation of Luke 2 and the gospel hope of the coming of Jesus that he begins to look out, quite literally, looking out and up to the stars, that Charlie begins to feel a sense of transcendence and meaning that thaws his icy depression.