Fun Facts You Never Knew About A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a holiday staple since 1965, thanks to Vince Guaraldi's iconic jazz score and its sweet message of "what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." It was the first Peanuts animated special, and it was different from just about anything else on TV at that time, so there are things we take for granted about the now-ubiquitous special that actually have pretty interesting stories behind them.

As is the case with so many great works, the suits didn't get it at first. CBS executives didn't like A Charlie Brown Christmas when it was first screened for them, but the special already had a sponsor so it went ahead as planned. It then became a huge commercial and awards-season hit, and that's why Peanuts specials are still being made over 50 years later.

For more fun facts about A Charlie Brown Christmas, watch the video above. For example, did you know that the whole show was produced for just $76,000, which in today's dollars is about $590,000. It's obviously not a direct comparison, but 2015's computer-animated Peanuts Movie cost $99 million. Times surely have changed.

A Charlie Brown Christmas airs Thursday, Nov. 30 at 8/7c on ABC.