Oh Great Pumpkin, where are you?!

Today I carry on a ritual that I began when ten years ago. I’m sometimes known, not as "the Art teacher," but as "the teacher who shows Peanuts videos." Today, of course, is the day to see "It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," in Mr. Mallory’s classes.

Call it my contribution to stemming the tide of darkness, violence, anger, and over commercialization of Halloween. Occasionally over the years people have asked me how I, being someone so deeply religious can celebrate Halloween. I tell them if Charles Schultz could do it, that’s good enough for me.

Schultz has been important to me since I was a tot. You know how there’s always that project in 4H where the kids have to show off a collection they’ve accumulated? Well, mine was for Cub Scouts and it was my collection of 1950’s and 60’s Peanuts books. That collection might have been what led me to want to become a cartoonist and to become an art teacher.

Like lots of little kids, I liked to feel sorry for myself, I’d get picked last for teams, I couldn’t kick a football to save my life. So it made perfect sense that I found comfort in Peanuts. When Lucy first pulled the football on TV in "It’s the Great Pumpkin," in 1965, millions of little kids who felt sorry for themselves identified with poor Charlie Brown.

The more I read about Peanuts creator Charles Schultz, the more I admired him. You may have heard much of the trivia about him since the 50th anniversary of Peanuts and his death early in 2001. He’s originally from St. Paul, Minnesota. His father was a barber, just like Charlie Brown’s. He had a beagle puppy named Sparky who’d eat anything. Schultz’s first published drawing was of Sparky eating razor blades; he sent it in to Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Schultz thought about becoming a pastor, he was active in his church. He fell in love with a red-haired girl, like Charlie Brown, but lost her to a friend because he was too shy to speak up in time. After serving in WWII he sent in one of those "draw Tippy the turtle" Art tests for Art Instruction Schools. Eventually he worked for them as an Art teacher while he tried to get his cartoons published in magazines and newspapers.

In 1950 United Features Syndicate started selling his comic strip "little folks" and renamed it "Peanuts." In 1965 CBS took a chance on his half-hour special "A Charlie Brown Christmas." It broke the rules, it didn’t have a hyper active fast pace, it didn’t have a laugh track, it included a score performed by a jazz trio. Real children performed all the voices of the children. Little Cathy Steinberg, who played the voice of Sally, Charlie Brown’s little sister couldn’t even read yet! They had to read her lines to her and have her repeat them into the microphone. And most daring of all, it had an overt Christian message. They read from the Bible itself on national television.

The very next year, in 1966 came the Great Pumpkin. Both specials were perennial favorites on CBS for more than thirty years. Now Disney’s ABC owns the rights, but generations continue to enjoy Schultz’s masterpieces.

The Great Pumpkin has a lot to say about life. Linus is the Quixotic prophet, desperately trying to convince people to believe in the Great Pumpkin, but like Jesus called the unbelievers of His day, the other kids in the neighborhood remained "ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving (Isaiah 6:9 & Mark 4:12)."

But, like most of us Linus is a bit of a hypocrite. Lets face it, was it really about having the most sincere pumpkin patch, or was it about getting the big prize of all the candy and toys showered on you as the Great Pumpkin flies through the air. It’s about faith as opposed to works.

It’s also about greed and misplaced faith. Sally could have just trusted her big brother and get candy just by asking for it, but instead she follows the false prophet Linus and squanders her entire night sitting in a pumpkin patch, hoping for a for a bigger pay off than any of the other kids. "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened (Luke 11:8-10)."

Halloween was once All Saint’s Day Eve, a Church holiday, and then it became about superstition and fear. For a while in America, Halloween was about little kids, neighborhoods, hospitality, generosity, candy and costumes. In recent years it seems to have become more and more about big kids and adults, parties, pranks, blood and gore, demons and witchcraft, vampires and serial killers.

I say, take it back. Claim it for decency, civility and little kids. Make it about faith and mystery, surprises and silliness, not about meanness, anger, revenge and evil. Read the comics, rent "It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," and buy good candy, not just candy corns either, but something chocolate. But please, please, remember poor Charlie Brown and don’t give any little kids rocks.