A Charlie Brown Christmas

    

     

     I have always loved Charlie Brown and I have always loved Christmas so it only makes sense that I would love, A Charlie Brown Christmas. As a child I would love to see the commercials that would tell of when the special would air. What anticipation and excitement they would bring! Even just seeing the commercial would spark a happy Christmas feeling. We would make a note of when the special was to play and usually my mother, brothers, and sister and I would watch it together.  Even now as an adult when I see the commercials for A Charlie Brown Christmas, I am still over come with a feeling of excitement and happiness even if I do not actually watch the show when it airs. And of course, I know I could order the DVD or find it somewhere on the many viewing options that are available now, that as a kid we did not have but that is not the point. It’s seeing the add that helps to bring back fond memories of my childhood that I connect with. As child my brothers, sister, and I did a lot together. And Christmas was a great time of togetherness for the whole family from decorating the house, picking out the tree, to decorating the tree and then making sugar cookies and drinking eggnog around the newly decorated tree, we had some great times. The commercial helps to bring back those fond memories and feelings of togetherness and family. Then there is the whole message of the special itself. I love that Charlie Brown is so deep! He often gets made fun for being so, but that is what I love about him. I can totally relate with his character.

     In talking about the nervous system and what aspects are primarily involved, I would say my senses are affected first. My vision and hearing are called upon first when I view and hear the commercial. So, the optic nerve, and the vestibulocochlear nerve, and sometimes even my olfactory bulb and tract. After seeing and hearing the commercial sometimes I can almost smell the many wonderful scents of Christmas. This memory holds a lot of emotional value to it, so the limbic system is definitely involved, along with the amygdala. Since this a long-term memory, well actually a combination of long-term memories my hippocampus is involved as well. It is very interesting to think about what actually goes into a memory and how emotion can be triggered through the senses.