NORFOLK, Va. — The spirit of Charlie Brown has popped up in Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood.
It started as a red bulb hung on a dead tree at the corner of Ocean View Avenue and 6th Bay Street. A passerby posted a photo of it in a local Ocean View Facebook page, igniting a social media frenzy; since then, there have been thousands of likes and dozens of comments and shares.
"My son said, 'Mommy there's a Charlie Brown tree. I love it,'" Facebook user commented.
Since then, the post has hit a "post reach" of more than 90,000 according to the page's administrator.
Another Facebook poster added a selfie of a blue blanket he put himself underneath the tree.
"It had to be done, hope the artist doesn't mind my addition," he said.
Commenters wanted to know: where did the idea for the tree come from?
13News Now found the original creator, who wished to maintain anonymity as a way to continue the holiday fun.
"All the money, all that doesn't matter or what's on your Christmas list. Something so simple reached so many people and made so many people happy. The ball was 97 cents from Walmart," she said.
She said that it all started as a joke when a tree planted by the City of Norfolk this year died in their community, and while trying to get it removed from the area, she added that it would make for a funny joke to decorate it like another holiday favorite.
"When I hung the red ball, I saw it as a Grinch tree. But the neighborhood said it was the Charlie Brown tree," she said.
She also added that someone anonymously from the community put green and blue lights on it to add to the decoration.
“Speaks to the season! Speaks to wanting to give, and no matter how much we can give we can all give a little something," she said.