In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Passion, Willow Rosenberg confesses to Buffy that her Jewish upbringing is so strict that she has to sneak over to Xander’s house to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas every year. (She adds it’s worthwhile to see Xander do “the Snoopy Dance,” a visual image the viewers wouldn’t be treated to until a couple of seasons later.)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (originally broadcast on Dec. 9, 1965), the first of many TV cartoon specials inspired by Charles Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts, has deservedly become one of the most beloved of holiday programs. Produced and directed by veteran animator Bill Melendez and written by Schulz, this is another example of how clueless the network suits were (and still are). They objected to anti-commercialism message (no, duh!), the blatant religious theme, the use of child actors for the voices as opposed to adult actors playing children and composer Vince Guaraldi’s sophisticated jazz score.

The show opens with one of the saddest Christmas songs ever, a child’s choir singing Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time is Here.” (The only other holiday song that matches it for melancholy is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”) Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins) and Linus Van Pelt (Christopher Shea) are walking past the other kids ice skating on a frozen pond. Charlie is depressed and he isn’t sure why, so he goes to the psychoanalysis stand run by Linus’ sister Lucy (Tracy Stratford) to figure out what’s wrong with him.

Lucy: Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are, then you have hypengyophobia.

Charlie: I don't think that's quite it.

Lucy: How about cats? If you're afraid of cats, you have ailurophasia.

Charlie: Well, sort of, but I'm not sure.

Lucy: Are you afraid of staircases? If you are, then you have climacaphobia. Maybe you have thalassophobia. This is fear of the ocean, or gephyrobia, which is the fear of crossing bridges. Or maybe you have pantophobia. Do you think you have pantophobia?

Charlie: What's pantophobia?

Lucy: The fear of everything.

Charlie: That’s it! Actually, Lucy, my trouble is Christmas. I just don't understand it. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down.

Lucy: You need involvement. You'll need to get involved in some real Christmas project. How would you like to be the director of our Christmas play?

Charlie: Me? You want me to be the director of the Christmas play?

They head over to the school auditorium for the rehearsal and find Schroeder (Chris Doran) playing another one of Guaraldi’s catchy jazz tunes on his piano while the other kids dance away. (Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s dog, is, of course, doing the aforementioned Snoopy Dance.)

The kids are less than happy with the choice of Charlie Brown to direct the show, so they just ignore his instructions. Lucy tries to rally the troops when she turns around and catches Snoopy imitating her every gesture. “I oughta slug you,” she threatens the sarcastic canine. He responds by kissing her on the lips.

Lucy: Ugh! I've been kissed by a dog! I have dog germs! Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some Iodine!

Finally, the kids entrust Charlie Brown with getting a Christmas tree for the show figuring that he should be able to do something that simple right. Fed up with the commercialization of Christmas, he picks out the scrawniest tree on the lot because he thinks it needs some love. (Actually, it looks more like a limb.)

When he brings the tree to the rehearsal, the kids deride him and his choice. Charlie Brown laments to Linus that he doesn’t know what the true meaning of Christmas is anymore. Linus responds by quoting verbatim a passage from the King James Bible concerning the birth of Christ.

Sadly taking the little tree home with him, Charlie Brown passes Snoopy’s dog house which sports an elaborate Christmas display that has won first prize in a contest. He takes one of the ornaments and places it on his tree which causes it to limply bend over. “I've killed it! Oh! Everything I touch gets ruined,” he says in dismay.

But then a Christmas miracle happens. The other kids stop by and, taking mercy on the little tree, decorate it with Snoopy’s ornaments. When he sees how beautiful it looks now, Charlie Brown’s faith in Christmas is restored!

A Charlie Brown Christmas can be viewed on-line for free at Hulu and is available from Netflix and Amazon.