Wow, talk about a change that’s still hard to accept.

A Charlie Brown Christmas has been gracing our living rooms on network TV since 1965. According to People Magazine, it premiered on CBS to 15 million homes back then. CBS was its home each Christmas season for 35 years. According to Smithsonian Magazine, it wasn’t expected to do well at all, but this Peanuts half-hour animated special ended up in our hearts for generations, winning a Peabody and an Emmy along the way. 

It wasn’t Christmas without it.

Generation X grew up watching A Charlie Brown Christmas every December, often airing a few times. Then, they introduced it to their children. After 35 years on CBS, ABC acquired the holiday favorite, which aired for the next 18 years.

Talk about a jolt when it disappeared from network television in 2022. Just like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a comfortable Christmas classic filled with childhood memories steeped in tradition. It was a given that added to the holiday season.

Once again, the animated classic won’t air on network television this year.

You see, Apple+ acquired the rights to the Peanuts franchise in 2020. Although the streaming service made a deal with PBS, allowing the network to air it in December 2020 and 2021, the deal hasn’t been resurrected since.

However, there’s good news.

According to Apple+, we can stream the cartoon classic for free this season, but only for 48 hours. A Charlie Brown Christmas will stream free on Saturday, December 14, and Sunday, December 15. All you have to do is open the app when you’re ready to watch it.