In A Charlie Brown Christmas the bright little fella who eventually monologizes about the holiday’s true meaning is Linus van Pelt. As described on Peanuts.com: “Thoughtful and respectful, [he] is often the voice of reason among his peers. He is a deep thinker and a student of philosophy. Despite his run-ins with cantankerous Lucy, and the fact no one understands why he carries a security blanket, [he] remains delightfully hopeful.” (He steadfastly believes, after all—despite vast skepticism around him—in The Great Pumpkin.)
Older sister Lucy is naggingly critical about the blanket; younger brother Rerun embarrassed. Most of the other Peanuts characters also dislike it—even Sally Brown, who has a wicked crush on Linus.
“This blanket is a necessity,” affirms Linus. “It keeps me from cracking up. It may be regarded as a spiritual tourniquet. Without it, I’d be nothing, a ship without a rudder.”
Linus van Pelt first grasps his blanket in 1954. Later that year Charlie Brown has one too, and, per Merriam-Webster, “he tells Linus’s sister Lucy, who unsurprisingly interrogates him (she does run a psychiatry booth, after all), that it is ‘a security and happiness blanket’ that ‘all little kids carry’. He goes on to say, ‘They’re just the thing to have when you’re tired and discouraged. See? You just sort of scrunch your face into it, and right away you feel secure’.”
In psychological circles it’s known that psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott had actually coined “transitional object” in 1953 “to describe those blankets, soft toys, and bits of cloth to which young children frequently develop intense, persistent attachments.” Although writer Charles Schulz never actually has his Peanuts characters use the term “security blanket,” it’s now been in common use for decades.
Later on in the history of the comic strip Linus, torn, does try to “cure” himself of the security blanket. “He even opens up a clinic to help children get rid of their security blankets. His only patient is a child named ‘Randolph’ whose head is covered by a blanket. When asked to remove the blanket, ‘Randolph’ is revealed to be Sally Brown, who had tricked her way into the home of her ‘Sweet Babboo‘” (Peanuts.fandom.com). Linus, turned off by Sally’s interest and her ploys, is so upset he regresses.
If it helps you cope, why not have a security blanket, adults included? Its contemporary synonyms, by the way, might surprise you, as they did me. Among them are narcotic, sedative, opiate, anesthetic, and tranquilizer. Surely many can relate to wanting or using these.
Or your own comfort object may be somewhat less “medicating.” Roberta Satow, PhD, Psychology Today: “The reality is that many adults continue to have transitional objects that bring psychological strength and assistance by representing their emotional attachments. These objects can include clothing, photographs, memorabilia, music records, documents, or a phone.”
If your transitional object interferes with your functioning, however, it’s time to address it. The aforementioned drugs, for example, may become addictive. As can your phone.
As can doomscrolling the political news of the day. But if Linus van Pelt were around today and prone to doing so, we would never know because he once wisely proclaimed, “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people…religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin!”
