Christmas and Snoopy

Christmas time rolls around again, and M got to thinking about her old NZ workplace, and how stressful it would be in the weeks leading up to Christmas as we worked to fulfill the print orders of our clients.

The radio would be on throughout the lab, and come December 1st, Christmas music would start to be played on all the radio stations. It was a running gag each year with us that it wasn’t Christmas until we heard Snoopy’s Christmas being played at least 3 times a day!

Being a fan of Peanuts and Snoopy cartoons, the song is dear to M’s heart.

It’s very popular in NZ at Christmas time, so it was with great amazement that M discovered that the song was not that well known in other parts of the world – particularly when talking to English, American or Canadian friends.

So she did some digging to find out more about the song.

Sung and played by a group called The Royal Guardsmen, you’d think that they were English, but no! They’re from the US and based in Florida. They recorded Snoopy’s Christmas in 1966 and were then forevermore associated with it.

The song is all about a Christmas Eve during WWI. Snoopy’s arch enemy, flying ace Baron Von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, was flying again. (In the Peanuts' cartoon strips, Snoopy was forever dog-fighting with the Baron as he sat on his kennel which became his Sopwith Camel biplane.)

The Allied Command needed a hero to go up to face the Baron, so they call on Snoopy. The weather is bitterly cold; with ice on his wings, Snoopy is in trouble, and the Baron soon has him lined up in his sights. To Snoopy’s surprise, he doesn’t shoot, but instead forces Snoopy to land in enemy territory.

Christmas bells are ringing in a nearby village as the Baron pops open a bottle of champagne and wishes Snoopy a Merry Christmas. Then he lets him fly away, knowing that they will do battle again, but Christmas is all about peace and goodwill and not the time to kill.

So, with memories of 9 years spent with an awesome team at the best professional photo lab in the world, M dedicates this post to the gang at Chromatek Professional Laboratories in Pukekohe, New Zealand – now known as Queensberry Print Solutions!

I hope that the BBQ is fired up for that last day lunch – and that your chef is as good as the one from previous years!

And here’s Snoopy’s Christmas for everyone to listen to!




You can even sing along, because the words are here!

To everyone celebrating the Christmas season - may this time be filled with peace and joy - a time to reflect on what is important to you, and to give thanks to the people who enrich you - just by being in your life.

To all our blog readers - thank you for visiting and making our blog a more interesting place with your input. Thanks especially to those who leave comments, and to all the lurkers, it's about time that you comment too! We hope that you all continue to visit over 2007.

To our family and friends - thanks for being there when we need you, and thanks for also being there when we haven't! It's what friendship and love is all about - sharing the good, the bad and all the stuff inbetween. May 2007 be an even better year for all of us.

Merry Christmas and here’s to a Happy New Year from M and J!