The Peanuts Gang Dance Like No One's Watching

Snoopy, Linus and friends get in the holiday spirit in this jubilant clip from "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

A shorter Free Happiness this week, but one that I hope still provides a little joy during these dark and uncertain times.

Recently I’ve started each morning with my coffee, a combination of Wordle and Connections, and this YouTube playlist of songs from the Peanuts cartoons. I find it to be a soothing way to start the day.

The playlist’s first song is the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “Linus and Lucy,” and it reminded me of the exuberant dancing that accompanies it in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

And so now I share it with you, if you need an uplifting way to start the day, especially as we enter a very busy holiday season.

Also, check out these dance moves! I aspire to be this level of carefree.

Tag yourself: I’m the curly-haired girl in the purple dress, rocking out while swinging her arms up and down as if lifting something heavy.

Also, look how in sync Linus and Sally are—adorable! And of course, love the little dude doing the proto-running man.

Reading recs:

Happy Diwali to all those who celebrate! Earlier this year, New York City declared Diwali a public school holiday, and students will have the day off to celebrate starting in 2024. In thinking about the significance of this decision, here are two pieces that reflect on the celebration of Diwali in two very different ways.

-The victory of light over darkness—what did it really mean then, and what does it mean in my life as a woman living in the 21st century? Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni reflects on the multitude of meanings the celebration has for her in the beautiful 2019 essay, “What Diwali Means to Me.”

-In 2006, The Office aired an episode called “Diwali” (you might remember the Michael Scott song) that helped popularize the festival in American pop culture. Sixteen years later, And Just Like That had its own “Diwali” episode—with very lackluster results.

I forgot this episode existed, perhaps because the actual festivities only lasted three minutes of a thirty-six minute episode! Several contributors to Brown Girl Magazine shared their thoughts and frustrations with Carrie, Seema, what this episode represents, and what they wished they had seen, in “And Just Like That, Carrie Made it to a Diwali Party That Never Quite Was.”¹

Seriously, even The Office and boorish Michael Scott treated Diwali with more interest and respect than Carrie Bradshaw and AJLT. So, rather than a fun fact, I thought I’d try a poll:

A reminder: If you’re in the Miami area, I’ll be at the 40th Annual Miami Book Fair this Saturday, Nov. 18th presenting on a panel called “Historical Novels & Fateful Decisions.” It’s one of the biggest book festivals of the year, and I’m excited to attend as many panels as I can.

Also, this newsletter will be off for the next two weeks and will return the first Sunday of December. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving in advance, as well moments of restive quiet and happiness in the weeks ahead.

1. Apologies if this newsletter entry comes off as lackluster too, as I’m not sure I’m expressing my thoughts about Diwali and representation as well as I could be. If you’re reading this on a Sunday morning, then that means you’re reading it a few hours after I wrote it. But I at least wanted to try.