1965: Charlie Brown Celebrates Christmas

On this day back in 1965, perhaps the greatest Christmas TV special aired for the first time. A Charlie Brown Christmas aired on CBS and some thought that the show wouldn’t get a second viewing. Charles Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, wanted to include a few verses from the Bible telling the nativity story which raised a lot of red flags with the network big wigs. They were afraid that the special would end up offended a large audience. Schulz refused to the special unless the passage was included. CBS relented and the special did amazingly well. In 2020, Apple TV+ purchased the rights to the specials to air on the streaming service exclusively. However, after a lot of public backlash, Apple worked out a deal with PBS to air the special on one night.

1907: Christmas Seals go on sale

Christmas Seals, a promotional tool used to promote the American Lung Association, went on sale for the first time on this day in 1907. Emily Bissell came up with the idea after she had read about similar Danish seals used in 1904. Bissell hoped to raise funds for a sanitarium in Delaware. In 1908, the stamps were used nationally to promote the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis (which later became the American Lung Association) and the National Red Cross (which later discontinued their involvement). In 1987, the term “Christmas Seals” was trademarked by the American Lung Association.

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