For as long as I can remember, my family has turned on the television at Christmastime and watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I have come to look forward to this yearly tradition and can’t help feeling a little sad if we miss it. It just doesn’t feel quite like Christmas unless I’ve watched the Peanuts gang sing Christmas songs in the snow.

There are many reasons why this is one of my favorite holiday traditions. For one, this is the first ever Peanuts television special; it was based on the comic strip and aired on December 9, 1965. It’s a pretty cool opportunity to watch a show that has been airing every year for the last 51 years. While this show is over 50 years old, it remains well loved because of how timeless it is. You could say it takes place in almost any year since 1965 and it would still make sense.

The message it offers viewers is also pretty timeless. The show starts out with Charlie Brown lamenting to Linus that he just doesn’t feel happy at Christmastime. He says that it’s hard to be happy when you don’t even see the point of Christmas. Throughout the beginning of the special, Charlie Brown witnesses all of the other children, and even his own dog, get swept up in the commercial aspects of the holiday. Charlie Brown is desperate to know the true meaning of Christmas, so Linus quotes the Bible passage Luke 2:8-14 in which an angel appears to the shepherds and proclaims the good news of Jesus’ birth. This portion of the special not only helps the characters realize the true meaning of Christmas but reminds the viewers that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, not about the gifts and decorations.

So if you don’t watch it already, I would recommend making “A Charlie Brown Christmas” part of your holiday traditions! This sweet, funny, profound classic is sure to leave a warm spot in your heart every year. Merry Christmas!