Valentine’s Day is a popular holiday inPeanutslore, and the special occasion is a big part of the comic strips as well as the animated specials. Everyone gets in on the Valentine’s Day fun - even if fun is not the most correct word for a lot of the kids, especially Charlie Brown. While Valentine’s Day may be fun for Snoopy, it is pretty miserable for Charlie Brown, who rarely gets the attention he hopes to receive on the holiday.
Likewise, Sally and Lucy do not fare much better, as misery loves company for thePeanutsgang on Cupid’s holiday. Chocolate and flowers may be nice on Valentine’s Day, but some festivePeanutscomics are not too shabby, either. Spanning the duration of the property,Peanuts' version of Valentine’s Day will not disappointfor fans of the franchise, both new and old.
10"I’ll Take It"
March 17th, 1963
Violet feels guilty for not giving Charlie Brown a valentine, so she offers to finally give him one about a month after the holiday. Schroeder does not tolerate the disrespect towards his friend and defends Charlie Brown, scolding Violet and pointing out to her that she does not care about Charlie Brown; she just doesn’t want to feel guilty anymore.
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Schroeder goes a step further and tells Violet thatCharlie Brown does not need her valentine, only for Charlie Brown to stop him so that he can receive Violet’s valentine after all. While not many of thePeanutsgang would stick upfor Charlie Brown, the one time someone does - Schroeder, in this case - Charlie Brown completely shoots himself in the foot and cuts his friend off. Apparently, any Valentine’s Day card, even a day late and out of a guilty conscience, is better than none.
9"A Tear Came to My Eye"
February 14th, 1969
Sally has no troublecommunicating her feelings to Linus, whether it be on Valentine’s Day or on an average Wednesday. However, those feelings and gestures are often not reciprocated by Linus, who is usually just plain annoyed by her declarations of love for him. However, that does not mean that he never shows her any sort of kindness or affection, as seen in this Valentine’s Day-themed comic strip.
Linus gives Sally a Valentine’s Day card,and she is dumbstruck at the gesture - until she starts crying. She is so happy that he gives her a valentine for a change, in contrast to her usual unrequited gestures, that she is emotional to the point of tears. There’s no doubt that Linus got more of an intense and emotional response than he originally bargained for, likely instantly regretting his decision to give her a valentine.
8"It Is?"
February 16th, 1971
Snoopy makes it no secret that he has a very long list of admirers from whom he has received Valentine’s Day cards. In fact, Snoopy is quite keen on bragging about his many cards. Charlie Brown, annoyed and likely a little jealous, informs Snoopy thatit is really rude as well as tacky to brag about all the valentines he has received.
This comic strip marks the second time that the unseen character of Amy has been referenced, which just so happens to be the name of one of Charles Schultz’s daughters.
Snoopy is taken aback that his behavior is not the most polite, but after he takes a second to think about it, he realizes that he does not really care and goes right back to bragging. It is hard enough to not receive any valentines, but seeing his dog get several cards from different girls is a tough pill to swallow for Charlie Brown. Maybe Snoopy will be a pal and give him a card… but probably not.
7"I Don’t Have Time to Answer a Lot of Questions"
February 8th, 1976
Peppermint Patty asksCharlie Brownhis thoughts on what kind of valentine means “love” - if it should be an expensive valentine gift or if it should be given in person or in the mail. However, Peppermint Patty realizes that she is asking the wrong person for information about valentines, because Charlie Brown is one person who has never even received one.
Deciding that she should be asking someone who has actually gotten many valentines,she turns to Snoopy for advice,but he is too swamped by his mountains of valentines to answer any of her questions. Given Peppermint Patty’s huge crush on Charlie Brown, one would think that she would be happy that she did not have any competition for being his valentine, but instead it just makes her irritated. If nothing else, at least Charlie Brown was honest.
6"We Regret to Inform You"
February 10th, 1980
Charlie Brown tries to be stealthy and slips a Valentine’s Day card into the door’s mail slot. Unfortunately for him, the card comes right back to him witha rejection message that says his Valentine’s Day card does not suit their current needs. Like a rejected magazine write-in, the household door thinks thatCharlie Brown is notup to snuff, which has got to hurt.
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Even a house is capable of rejecting Charlie Brown, which is not great for the poor kid’s already pessimistic worldview, especially considering that people are already quick to reject Charlie Brown - and now inanimate properties are added to the list. While dropping the valentine through the house’s mail slot was not successful, maybe next time he can try the mailbox and see if it is more accommodating.
5"A Term of Endearment"
February 12th, 1995
Sally loves to call Linus her Sweet Babboo, regardless of how much he detests the pet name. While delivering her valentine to her Sweet Babboo Linus, Rerun proves to be an obstacle when Sally tells the youngest Van Pelt to give the card to his brother. Things do not get off to a great start, because Rerun first mistakes Babboo for Baboon, which is not a great term of endearment like Sally’s.
Then, Linus refuses to take the card from Rerun,emphatically declaring that he is not Sally’s Sweet Babboo, so Rerun gives her back the card, and she is stuck giving it to Snoopy.The beagle, much like Rerun, has no idea what a Babboo even is. How Sally came up with that term of endearment is anyone’s guess, but it is definitely not a popular one with any of thePeanutsgang - except for her.
4"Happy Valentine’s Day!"
February 13th, 1977
Lucy tries to finagle avalentine from Schroederby insisting that Valentine’s Day cards do not always have to be for someone one is madly in love with. And so Schroeder posits that Valentine’s Day cards can be given to someone that one just likes rather than loves, which Lucy agrees with. He takes it a step further when hewonders if valentines can be given to people that you barely tolerate, to which Lucy says that they can be, prompting him to give Lucy a valentine, communicating that she belongs to that not-so-ideal category.
Schroeder surely does not mince words with Lucy in this comic strip…
It is not great for Lucy that her crush can barely tolerate her, but at least she does get a Valentine’s Day card after she had been waiting for one. Schroeder surely does not mince words with Lucy in this comic strip, and while she does get a valentine from him, it likely isn’t in the way she wanted.
3"He’s the Charlie Browniest"
February 11th, 1968
Making a valentine especially for the Little Red Haired Girl,Charlie Brownpractices how he is going to give the card to her. He does a great job in his practice, but the thought of having to actually do it in person is a bit too much, and it makes him incredibly nervous and anxious.As a result,he changes gears and mails the valentine anonymously instead, which qualifies as very Charlie Brown behavior, according to Linus.
It is aPeanutsrunning gag that Charlie Brown pines for the Little Red Haired Girl from afar, always chickening out when the time comes for him to actually make contact with her. As hard as he tries, he just can’t get the courage to talk to her or even hand her a valentine in person, which is very on brand for Charlie Brown.
2"And I Didn’t Get Any Valentines"
February 14th, 1996
Going along with Snoopy’s Flying Ace alter ego, Spike pretends to be an infantryman in a war. A specific storyline in 1996 saw Spike stuck in the trenches on Valentine’s Day. Worse yet, as he spends time in the trenches, it is all rain - all the time. He tries to get permission from his captain to go into town to get valentines, but he is refused, so he lands right back where he started.
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On Valentine’s Day, things are not much better for him.Spike writes a letterto his mom while he is in the trenches, noting how he has had one seriously bad day. The rain has been relentless, as has the shooting, which is a horrible combination on any day, let alone on a holiday. Worse yet,Spike did not even get any valentines, which is always a bummer.
1"I Can’t Stand It"
February 12th, 1967
Checking the mailbox for Valentine’s Day cards,Charlie Brown is excited to have an avalanche of cards dumped on him…except it turns out that none are for him. Instead, all the Valentine’s Day cards are for his dog, the ever-popular Snoopy. Charlie Brown does not receive one single card, while Snoopy has a full file cabinet’s worth, much to Charlie Brown’s immense disappointment and annoyance.
This strip has been adapted into two different animated specials:Be My Valentine, Charlie BrownandA Charlie Brown Valentine.
At first, Charlie Brown thinks that Snoopy has just received one out of the stack, but one turns into a pile, leading Charlie Brown to contemplate having a full on meltdown. Much to Charlie Brown’s misfortune, Snoopy receiving countless cards while he receives none is a Valentine’s Day staple in the long-running strip. As a result, Charlie Brown’s humiliation and anger turns into an annualPeanutstradition, much like Valentine’s Day itself.
Peanuts
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
