The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.[1] According to Linus van Pelt, the Great Pumpkin is a legendary personality who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween carrying a large bag of toys to deliver to believing children. Linus continues to maintain faith in the Great Pumpkin, despite his friends' mockery and disbelief.[2]
The Great Pumpkin was first introduced in the strip dated October 26, 1959,[3] and Schulz subsequently reworked the premise many times throughout the run of Peanuts, notably inspiring the 1966 animated television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
While Schulz usually avoided outright politics, he enjoyed his Great Pumpkin strips and incorporating religious references in many comics and animated cartoons.[4]
- ^ Cavna, Michael (October 27, 2011). "'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown': 7 Things You Don't Know About Tonight's 'Peanuts' Special". The Washington Post blogs. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
- ^ Farago, Andrew (2017). The Complete Peanuts Family Album: The Ultimate Guide to Charles M. Schulz's Classic Characters. Weldon Owen. p. 100. ISBN 978-1681882925.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (May 31, 1972). "October 26, 1959 strip". GoComics. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ Lind, Stephen (2015). A Charlie Brown Religion (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.