Friday, September 4, 2015

'Good Grief!' It's Charlie Brown on Christmas Forever Stamps


The U.S. Postal Service begins celebrating the holiday season by dedicating the Charlie Brown Christmas Forever stamps. The booklet of 20 stamps features 10 still frames from the 1965 TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (two of each design) celebrating the classic’s 50th anniversary.

The early October release of the stamp coincides with the Peanuts comic strip debut in seven newspapers on Oct. 2, 1950: The Washington PostThe Chicago TribuneThe Minneapolis Star-TribuneThe Allentown Call-ChronicleThe Bethlehem Globe-TimesThe Denver Post, and The Seattle Times. When Schulz announced his retirement in December 1999, the Peanuts comic strip was syndicated in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide, with book collections translated in more than 21 languages.

The stamp images include Charlie Brown holding the sapling that eventually becomes his Christmas tree; Charlie Brown and Pigpen with a snowman; Snoopy and children ice skating; the cast of the program gathered around the Christmas tree; Linus kneeling by the sparsely decorated Christmas tree; Charlie Brown checking his mailbox for a Christmas card; Charlie Brown and Linus leaning on a snowy brick wall; Charlie Brown and Linus standing by the Christmas tree; a frustrated Charlie Brown standing in front of Snoopy’s doghouse; and, Charlie Brown decorating the tree in front of the prize-winning lights display on Snoopy's doghouse.  To view all the Charlie Brown Christmas Forever stamps visit http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2015/pr15_051.htm

“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the first animated special featuring characters from Charles Schulz’s beloved comic strip Peanuts, aired on CBS the evening of December  9, 1965. Over the years, the ode to the holiday season has become a tradition. The program now airs annually on ABC.

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