I stumbled across a movie last week called The Man Who Invented Christmas.
Now you might think it must be a movie about Jesus, or perhaps about Santa Claus but no.
Actually, it was about the English author Charles Dickens – or more specifically the period of time during which Dickens wrote his (arguably) most famous story - A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol is one of those stories which everyone knows, or knows enough about, but not a lot of people these days have actually read the book.
And that includes me.
My memory of A Christmas Carol is reading an abridged version of it when I was younger –most probably the Ladybird Books edition (shorter versions of famous stories, written for easy digestion by children). I had certain never read Dicken’s original prose.
So, on a whim (and fighting pre-Christmas traffic, which was not a fun time), I went and bought myself a copy and sat down to read it.
What a captivating story.
It was a pleasure to be reminded of so many features of the story which I did know but had forgotten – like the door-handle Scrooge sees which changes into Marley’s face (which as you can imagine, definitely captured my pre-teen imagination), or how Scrooge at first declares Marley’s ghost to be a hallucination bought on by food poisoning from spoiled beef or a touch of mustard.
The whole story is like that – both chilling and funny.
And sweet.
Even now one hundred and eighty years after it was written, Dickens’s words still have the power to draw you in and make you feel for the old man coming to understand the awful foolishness of his mistakes.
Not to mention the crippled boy Tiny Tim who still carries immense power to tug on the heartstrings.
And the ghost of Christmas’s yet to come – the mysterious unspeaking apparition with its bony extended hand is just as chilling now as it was when Dickens first conjured it.
A Christmas Carol is a remarkable story.
And perhaps it is one whose themes have resonated through the almost two centuries since it was written because they are so universal and still so current. Still to this day Christmas is the time of year when people take stock of the year gone past, to think back on the choices they have made and hope for the future.
Ghosts of Christmas past, of Christmas present and of Christmas yet to come.
For myself, it is enlightening and perhaps thought provoking to look back on how I viewed Christmas when I was younger. That during those self-centred years of childhood and even as a teenager I was really all about what I could get.
The presents.
Time with family and the traditions being nothing more than an afterthought as compared to whatever shiny new gadget I was sure would make my life complete!
It’s cringy to look back upon myself at that time. But I doubt my experience is unusual.
And of course, growing up and building your own family means that your focus shifts. For me it was the pleasant discovery that I could find more pleasure in giving than receiving. That seeing an expression of gratitude after the receipt of a well-planned out present was far more meaningful that receiving gifts (not that I’m immune to the thrill of a perfectly picked surprise present!).
Seeing the joy on kids’ faces when they unwrap the perfect gift is a tremendous thrill, and it can make the stress and stamina of pre-Christmas shopping worthwhile.
As for Christmas future?
Well to me, in this hectic and interconnected world in which we live, Christmas is a good time to take a pause – even if just for twenty-four hours. To spend time with those you care about and to take a break from always worrying about whatever is happening next.
It is important, and healthy too, to allow yourself that time.
Both a time for celebration and for relaxation.
Not that Dickens knew much about relaxation.
And as a writer I’m even more amazed that he was able to write A Christmas Carol in such a short space of time.
The movie I saw dramatises this period of his life. How Dicken’s was suffering massive writers block, how he was struck by inspiration after overhearing an old Irish ghost story being told by one of his maids and how, after his publishers rejected the idea as impractical, Dickens financed the printing and publishing himself – managing to get the book not only written but illustrated and published all within a six-week time frame leading up to Christmas!
Even in this age of instant self-publishing, the idea of conceiving of a work like this, writing it, printing, and publishing it in such a short space of time is simply astonishing!
That the book turned out be one of the best loved of all time is an amazing achievement and one that I think is too easily forgotten.
So, if you happen to have a copy of A Christmas Carol around (or even an abridged version) and you are so inclined, in this busy week of Christmas preparations – you could do far worse than taking the time to relax for a few hours (it’s a short book) and read it.
We could all use a little boost of Christmas spirt this time of year.
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