A heart-warming, family-gathering ritual in many households today is the annual watching of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’. Cocoa-in-hand, holiday-themed pajamas zipped up, this viewing is, for many, one of the most anticipated traditions of the holiday season.

We, as T.V. viewers, sympathize with Charlie Brown’s frowns of disappointment when he excitedly opens his mailbox–hoping to find holiday greeting cards–but discovers it is empty. We laugh and shake our heads when Lucy offers C.B. psychiatric advice regarding the hustle and bustle of the season, for five cents. We find comparison within ourselves with C.B.’s little sister, Sally, as she asks for assistance to write a letter to Santa asking for cash, “preferably tens and twenties”. We root for C.B. and his companion, Linus, in their hunt for the perfect Christmas tree, “a big, shiny, aluminium tree” which turns out to be a sad, tiny sampling, a disgrace to the other children; ending in humiliation for Charlie Brown and confusion about the true meaning of Christmas.

At one point in this short holiday film, Snoopy, America’s beloved beagle, is decorating his dog house with elaborate lights. C.B. learns that Snoopy does this in hope of winning a monetary prize. He exclaims, “My own dog, gone commercial!” Although Charles M. Schultz is known as being the creator of this gang of cartoons, this film is filled with mature satire on our society today and comments, in a child-friendly manner, on the abundance of commercialism during Christmas time.

For children, the excitement begins on December first, as they commence their Christmas Countdown calendars and also, begin constructing a rough draft of their letter to Santa Claus. For high school and college students, we too are busy constructing rough drafts of research papers. Weekends crammed with study guides  in preparation for finals and the usual homework capacity, our Christmas begins the weekend of break after finals have finished.

For the rest of the world, however, Christmas is brought in small-talk conversations in checkout lines while purchasing Halloween costumes in late October.

“Why pay ten extra dollars for the gifts you want- when on Black Friday you can save that money. Come out on Thanksgiving at eight-o’clock…” Familiar commercials are anything but rare in society today. Alluring financially-struggling parents out of Thanksgiving dinners and separating them from their family by promising low prices on toys their children plea for, that they have seen glorified on television. Lines wrapping around blocks cause tension that elevates into stress, anger and potentially violent and dangerous situations such as human trappings and fights. For what, a cheaper Iphone?

Not only on Black Friday, this obsession our society has with materialism is quite alarming, and is exhibited especially during Christmas season.

Christmas is the wonderful season of giving. But it should not be solely focused on materialism: buying ‘love’ for one another and measured in accordance with the prices on gift receipts. It should be a season of giving and receiving acts of love and kindness.

However due to (social) media, this season of love is commercialized and is shaped into a season of rivalry and competition. Snoopy, despite his lovable dog humor, is a victim of allowing commercialism to control his behavior and life, as seen when he joins a decorating contest for money.

One’s wardrobe, car, home, amount of possessions and body are often put on display in order to create a feeling of pride, especially during the holidays. But unfortunately, jealousy is often brewed in our hearts, where feelings of thankfulness are cast out.

Ironically envy, a capital sin, is ever-present during Christmas time, as our society cannot seem to accept its many blessings.

An undeniable, sad fact in our society is that each year childrens’ letters to Santa continually grow in length and expense. This is seen in Sally’s sweet yet demanding Christmas list.

However, in the past: a child yelped with glee on Christmas morning when seeing a teddy-bear underneath their tree; today’s generation would stare and glance at their parents with a remark of “that’s it?” cast on their faces.

Today’s society must reevaluate what we consider most important in our lives. Perhaps more importantly: whom do we hold close to our hearts and cherish? Often, people, like Charlie Brown, are left waiting for a Christmas card, a desire to be recognized as special and cared about by another.  This is a season of religious celebration and rejoicing and also a time of thankfulness and appreciation for family, friends and loved ones.

The dazzling new Ipod may look absolutely stunning when held in one’s hands about to send a text but what is the point if we do not have anyone to communicate with?

Maggie Dolph, a Naz sophomore believes, “Commercialism is definitely a problem in our society, especially during Christmas time. I think the main reason for celebrating Christmas is gathering with your family and just being together. The materialistic aspect can at times be good…but I feel that sometimes people let it overshadow the true meaning.”

Diana Pantoja, also a sophomore, explains, “I think nowadays retailers just use Christmas for the mass growth of their products, and once we see the new Ipod, for example, it’s all we think about during this time of year, rather than the important, non-materialistic aspects of Christmas.”

This abundance of commercialism that is seen so predominantly in the Christmas season, that it can turn our hearts as cold as Frosty’s snow and as malicious as the Grinch’s evil plots.

When the children of A Charlie Brown Christmas tease and embarrass Charlie Brown based on his belief about a nice tree, he is hurt and isolated. In society today, many people are treated in a similar way regarding their belief system and faith. Instead of allowing media to decide what is considered ‘normal’, one must think for themselves, apart from the influences of the outside world.

Yes, commercialism is indeed present in our society today. However it only applies to ourselves if we let it control our daily lives. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects such as maniac shoppers and overflowing Christmas budgets, remember a time when Christmas was magical and pure.

Tune on to a favorite Christmas radio station, let the beats of the Drummer Boy enhance the skip in your step, sing along with Burl Ives and Ella Fitzgerald to beloved classics.

Enjoy, celebrate and give thanks for friends and family.

After all, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”