Editing A Charlie Brown Christmas (section)

=== Writing ===
[[File:Charles Schulz NYWTS.jpg|thumb|right|Charles M. Schulz in 1956; his goal for the special was to focus on the [[true meaning of Christmas]]]]
Schulz's main goal for a ''Peanuts''-based Christmas special was to focus on the [[true meaning of Christmas]].{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=17}} He desired to juxtapose this theme with interspersed shots of snow and ice-skating, perhaps inspired by his own childhood growing up in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]].{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=17}} He also created the idea for the school play, and mixing jazz with traditional Christmas carols.{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=17}} Schulz was adamant about Linus' reading of the Bible, despite Mendelson and Melendez's concerns that religion was a controversial topic, especially on television.<ref name="enq" /> Melendez recalled Schulz turned to him and remarked, "If we don't do it, who will?"<ref name="makingof" /> Schulz's estimation proved accurate, and in the 1960s, fewer than nine percent of television Christmas episodes contained a substantive reference to religion, according to university researcher Stephen Lind.<ref>Lind, Stephen J. "Christmas in the 1960s: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Religion, and the Conventions of the Genre" Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 26.1 (2014)</ref>

Schulz's faith in the Bible stemmed from his Midwest background and religious and historical studies;<ref name="enq" /> as such, aspects of religion would be a topic of study throughout his life.<ref>Templeton, David. [http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/12.30.99/schulz2-9952.html My Lunch with Sparky], reproduced from the December 30, 1999 – January 5, 2000 issue of the ''Sonoma County Independent''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080917015352/http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/12.30.99/schulz2-9952.html Archived] November 28, 2008.</ref> According to a 2015 "spiritual biography", Schulz's religion was personal and complex, and would be integrated in a number of his programs.<ref>Lind, Stephen J. "A Charlie Brown Religion: The Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz" (Jackson: U P Mississippi, 2015)</ref>

The program's script has been described as "barebones", and was completed in only a few weeks.<ref name="USA" /> In the days following the special's sale to Coca-Cola, Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez met with Schulz in his home to expand upon the ideas promised in the pitch. Mendelson remembered that on the previous Christmas Day he and his spouse had read Hans Christian Andersen's "[[The Fir-Tree]]" to their children.{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=19}} Schulz countered with the idea that there be a tree with the spirit of lead character Charlie Brown.{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=20}} They spoke at length about creating an official theme that was neither jazz nor traditional to open the program. Schulz wanted a part of the special to feature the character of Schroeder performing Beethoven, and Mendelson combined this with the inclusion of Vince Guaraldi's "[[Linus and Lucy]]" number.{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=20}} Schulz penned the script for ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'', with Melendez plotting out the animation via a storyboard. His storyboard contained six panels for each shot, spanning a combined eighty or-so pages.{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=20}}

Mendelson also suggested they employ a [[laugh track]], a staple of television animation, but Schulz rejected this idea immediately.{{sfn|Mendelson|2013|p=20}} "Up until then, many, if not all, animated shows had laugh tracks," said Mendelson. "As we were discussing how we would handle our special, I said very casually, 'I assume we'll have a laugh track.' It was a statement, not a question. Sparky just got up and quietly walked out of the room. We looked at each other, then Bill said, 'Well, I guess we won't have a laugh track.' Sparky came back in the room, and we went on with the meeting as if the subject had never come up."{{sfn|Solomon|2013|p=31}} Schulz felt strongly that the audience at home should not be instructed when to laugh.<ref name="USA" />