"Snoopy's Christmas" is a song by The Royal Guardsmen which appears on the album ''

Snoopy and His Friends ''Snoopy and His Friends'' is the third album by the Ocala, Florida group The Royal Guardsmen. The group is best known for their hit recording of " Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", which was first released in 1966 as a 45 rpm record single (it reached ...

'' (1967).

Overview

A followup to their earlier hit " Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", the song is a fictional account of how

Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recog ...

was directed to go out and fight the

Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

on a bitterly cold

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

. The Baron has Snoopy at his mercy after a long

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

, but instead of shooting him down he forces Snoopy to land and offers Snoopy a chivalrous holiday toast. Afterward, Snoopy and the Red Baron fly their separate ways, "each knowing they'd meet on some other day". The release begins with a chorus singing "

O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 ...

" ("O Christmas Tree"). The middle of the song is bridged by chimes ringing out a phrase from " Hark the Herald Angels Sing". The chimes can also can be heard during the fade-out at the end of the song. The album version of the song has a simulated radio news report of failed efforts at a Christmas truce, leading to Snoopy being sent out to hunt his sworn foe. The song references the 1914 "

Christmas truce ckb: ئاگربەستی کریسماس The Christmas truce (german: Weihnachtsfrieden; french: Trêve de Noël; nl, Kerstbestand) was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christm ...

" of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

which was initiated not by German and British commanders, but by the soldiers themselves. The length of the cease-fire varied by location, and was reported to have been as brief as Christmas Day or as long as the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Trench-bound combatants exchanged small gifts across the lines, with Germans giving beer to the British, who sent tobacco and tinned meat back in return. No Man's Land was cleared of dead bodies, trenches were repaired and drained, and troops from both sides shared pictures of their families and, in some places, used No Man's Land for friendly games of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

. The song even has the initiator correct as it was generally the German soldiers who called over to the British and initiated the truce and, in the song, it is the Red Baron—a German WWI hero—who extends the hand of Christmas friendship to Snoopy.

Reception

"Snoopy's Christmas" reached the No. 1 position in the New Zealand and Australia singles charts in 1967, and remains a popular Christmas song in those countries. The song was the fastest-selling single at the time it was originally released and is estimated to be the biggest selling overseas single sold in New Zealand in the 20th century. The song frequently reenters the New Zealand singles chart, charting in December 1987, 1988, 1989, and 2013. "Snoopy's Christmas" was also voted "the worst Christmas song of all time" by readers of the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' in 2007. In Canada, the song reached No. 39, January 6, 1968.

References

{{Authority control Songs about fictional male characters 1967 singles American Christmas songs Laurie Records singles Peanuts music Songs written by Luigi Creatore Songs written by Hugo Peretti Songs written by George David Weiss 1967 songs Christmas novelty songs Sequel songs Christmas truce Cultural depictions of Manfred von Richthofen Songs about Manfred von Richthofen

Overview

Reception

See also

References