‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’: 45 Years Later [VIDEO]

For Charlie Brown fans all over the world, Halloween has always come with one tradition for the last 45 years: the legend of the Great Pumpkin.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown first aired on CBS on Oct. 27, 1966, launching an annual broadcast of the Peanuts special until 2001 (when ABC picked up airing rights).

Based on the comic strip by Charles Schulz, Great Pumpkin was only the third Peanuts special to air on national television at the time, following A Charlie Brown Christmas and Charlie Brown's All-Stars.

Since 1965, when A Charlie Brown Christmas was first made, the Peanuts and Charlie Brown franchise has spawned more than 50 television specials including A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It's Magic, Charlie Brown and Play It Again, Charlie Brown.

45 years after the debut of the Great Pumpkin, fans of the show are taking to Twitter to ring in all things Halloween and Charlie Brown related.

Happy Halloween @snoopy & gang. Hope the #GreatPumpkin fulfills all your wishes! wrote one user.

I sure hope I chose the most sincere pumpkin patch for tonight. #greatpumpkin, wrote another.

The official Peanuts Twitter account, under the handle @snoopy, also got in on the fun.

We're still searching for the Great Pumpkin! Help us by tweeting you[r] pumpkin pictures @Snoopy using '#GreatPumpkin'! wrote @snoopy.

With classic lines like I got a rock, Welcome to the twentieth century and If you try to hold my hand, I'll slug you, Great Pumpkin has remained one of the most beloved television specials throughout the years.

I think a lot of people can relate to Charlie Brown and how it's not a wonderful night for him - he ends up with a lot of rocks, Neil Cole told CNN in a recent interview.

Cole is the president and CEO of Iconix Brand Group, the owner of Peanuts Worldwide.

It kind of makes it special - when you do get the candy - that some of us don't always get the candy, and so I think there's a special story in there . . . it's amazing how it continues to resonate, Cole added.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown follows Charlie, Lucy and the gang as they celebrate Halloween over a bizarre night that involves Linus' much-hyped pumpkin patch (and the legendary Great Pumpkin), Charlie getting rocks instead of candy and Snoopy crashing a Halloween party in his flying ace gear.

In 1984, Schulz appeared on the San Francisco talk show People Are Talking and commented on his much-loved characters.

I'm a little bit of all the characters, my sarcastic side is Lucy, my wishy-washy side is Charlie Brown, my dreaming side is Snoopy . . . I think you have to be a little bit of all of the characters if you're going to make them at all real, Schulz said.

Scroll down for video clips from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which turns 45 this Halloween.

The complete episode is currently streaming on Hulu.com.

Happy Halloween!