Everything you never noticed about ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

I think we can all agree that it’s not really Christmas until you’ve watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. The ice skating, the wilting Christmas tree, the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack — they all increase holiday cheer by 1000%, making us even more excited for the seasons than we already were.

If you can’t wait until ABC airs the special on Christmas Eve, I have good news for you — you can watch it online right now! And as you settle in for a screening here’s a list of things I never noticed about A Charlie Brown Christmas before. Keep an eye out for ‘em while you watch!

Snoopy’s dog house is… blue?

I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty big Peanuts fan, but here’s something I never noticed: Throughout this entire TV special, his dog house is blue. Huh. It’s supposed to be red! Maybe it’s because A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first of its kind, and things changed through the years. Either way, I watch this special every year, and it’s something I never noticed before.

These kids are very sophisticated.

For starters, their vocabulary is off the charts. Lucy talks about being depressed at Christmastime. Schroeder is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge on classical music. Charlie Brown constantly laments that everyone has “gone commercial” this Christmas. Oh, and he also knows who Solomon and Nebuchadnezzar are. You know, kid stuff.

Snoopy is good at everything.

Like, everything. He reads the newspaper. He plays the guitar. He dances his little heart out. He does killer impressions of barnyard animals. He even wins the neighborhood Christmas decorating contest for the display on his dog house. I’m not jealous, I’m just… okay, I’m a little jealous. That dog can do it all.

What is this play that Charlie Brown is directing supposed to be about?

It’s clear that Charlie Brown is directing the school play, but unfortunately, that’s about all that’s clear. The play has characters like the innkeeper, innkeeper’s wife and shepherd. There’s a musical number where everyone freestyle dances. There’s a Beethoven solo from Schroeder. There’s a sad little tree. And there’s a pet dog involved. But what do all of these things have in common? How do they come together? We never actually get to see the play, which bums me out.

Wait, is that Shermy?

It is! These days we see less and less of Shermy, AKA the kid in the green shirt. But Shermy was one of the most original characters — he appeared in the first-ever Peanuts strip, even before Snoopy. Over the years he appeared less and less, but here Lucy assigns him a role as a shepherd.

Snoopy’s laugh is pure evil.

It’s one part goose honk, one part clown nose and one part New Year’s Eve noisemaker. It’s so obnoxiously loud, you can hear it from the next room. But it still never fails to make me laugh.

(Images via ABC.)