And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. -Luke 2:10 (KJV)

I introduced my son to the beloved television special A Charlie Brown Christmas, and he thoroughly loved it. (He loved Snoopy, too, but who doesn’t?) Long before he watched it, he knew from his father that this was the only special that spoke about the true meaning of Christmas, in Linus’ famous speech on stage after Charlie Brown frustratedly cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

In that speech, Linus quotes from the Book of Luke as the angel spoke to the shepherds in the field, heralding the arrival of the Son of God.

But a detail I missed, as was pointed out in a Crosswalk article, is that Linus drops his blanket at a particular moment during his speech.

Just before Linus says, “Fear not,” he drops his blanket on the stage. Everyone knows that Linus and his security blanket are inseparable, so for him to drop his blanket–his worldly sense of security–just before saying, “Fear not,” he is demonstrating that we, too, can drop what we cling to in this world for safety and security, because it is in Christ alone we find refuge, safety, security, and salvation.