I had completely forgotten about this, probably one of the most thoughtful and emotional Christmas messages from a major media corporation ever televised. It aired starting in 1966, the year after A Charlie Brown Christmas was first broadcast, both on CBS. Created by illustrator R.O. Blechman and animated by Willis Pyle, it’s a startlingly simple 60-second piece that truly and fully encompasses the good will and warmth of the holiday. I recently wrote a piece here here about being sucked down the rabbit hole of the internet but there are indeed many long-lost gems to find and so far this is my favorite. As G. Jack Urso writes on his blog, Aeolus 13 Umbra.
One of the wondrous things about the Internet is its ability to conjure up the ghosts of the past, and in this case the animated ghosts of Christmas Past. We can connect with long-forgotten memories that upon retrospect we see contributed to our psyches.
We live in a world that is a swirling mass of widespread mayhem, murder, and insanity. Take just 60 seconds and watch this—it’s my Christmas gift to you.