This year, in the USA, the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is observed tomorrow. However, it is today — January 15th — which is his actual birthday.
Source of image: http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086
The cartoonists Charles Schultz knew, and Bill Watterson knows, an immense amount about the uniquely American way to celebrate Christmas.
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Their work speaks for itself. 
I hope you enjoy these cartoons, and have both a Happy Christmas and Merry New Year.
Please buy the books with these comic strips. They’re easy to find on Amazon, and many other places.
Books make excellent gifts, not just for holidays, but at any time. Christmas is also a time associated with eating good food, too, of course. Calvin’s table manners are atrocious, of course, but his parents do try.
Christmas Break, Winter vacation, or whatever you choose to call it gives us all time to be with our families and friends.
Santa Claus is also a big part of Christmas in America. Whether we like it or not, the same is true of capitalism.
Reality often clashes with our ideals. That’s part of being human, in any season.
An emotionally-charged phrase, “true meaning of Christmas,” is repeatedly explained, forgotten, rediscovered, celebrated, etc. — and, of course, we argue about it. We’re Americans, after all.
Sometimes, we also listen to each other. Other times, we don’t, even when we need to, and the opportunity presents itself.
The holiday season is often rough on those of us who struggle with depression. These cartoonists tackled such issues head-on. However, they never claimed to have all the answers.
Happy Christmas, and Merry New Year, to you and yours.
Peace be with you.
One thing both comic strips have in common is a focus on children and childhood. Reading them can help one keep from losing the essence of youth, no matter what age one reaches.
Bill Watterson, Charles Schultz: thank you for sharing your ideas about Christmas, and life itself, with us, over the decades. I’ll let Schultz have the last word.
Today is not Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s actual birthday. The anniversary of his birth came, this year, last Wednesday. As you can see above, that’s January 15. However, it’s being observed today — the date circled above — to give people a three-day weekend.
That’s related to something else, apart from the sheer inaccuracy of moving a date on the calendar, that bugs me about “MLK Day,” as it is often called. It’s essentially the same thing that bothers me about Memorial Day, and Veteran’s Day. To honor people we respect and admire for their hard work — for civil rights, defending the nation in battle, or anything else — what do we often do, as a nation? We close schools, many businesses, the stock market, mail service, etc., all to give as many people as possible a day without work. How does a day off, of all things, honor the hard work of anyone?
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