Portrait of Charles Dickens in 1842, by the American artist Francis Alexander. This oil painting is currently (2010) housed in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Born into a relatively affluent family in Portsmouth in 1812, Charles Dickens experienced both a comfortable life style during his childhood and a most uncomfortable one after his father was punished for living beyond his means by being thrown into a debtors’ jail called Marshalsea (as in “Little Dorrit”). Charles was sent to work at a rat-infested ‘blacking’ warehouse, where he had to work long hours putting tops onto pots of black boot polish under appalling conditions. What he witnessed there, as well as on the streets of London, and when he visited the Cornish tin mines made a great impression on him and deeply influenced his writing in later years. The many vivid, and often nasty characters who appear in his stories are largely based on people he encountered during this period of his life. His experiences in England, and also in the USA during his first visit in 1842, made him determined to expose the shocking gulf between wealth and poverty and to fight, not only for an improvement in living and working standards of the poor, but also for the abolition of slavery in America.

Going back to our image of an idyllic Christmas in Britain in Charles Dickens’ time, the mid 1800s, this is definitely that of the rich. Actually, in the early 1840s, the celebration of Christmas, (which was a combination of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ, together with remnants of the Roman festival Saturnalia and a Druid ceremony marking the winter solstice) was waning in popularity. This was partly on account of Oliver Cromwell’s puritanical disapproval of the merrymaking of Christmas, and the fact that the poor had neither time nor money for it anyway! Being concerned, as he was, about the plight of the poor, Dickens must have been especially moved by the hardship of the disadvantaged at Christmas, supposedly a time to celebrate and make merry!

In 1843 Dickens wrote the first of his Christmas stories, “A Christmas Carol”. There can hardly be anyone who needs reminding of the story of Scrooge, as it is the most performed as play, musical, opera, ballet or pantomime, and the most filmed of any of Dickens’ works – IMDb.com quotes more than 25 major feature or TV films of this name, ranging from the 1910 version, to Robert Zemeckis’ latest 2009 IMAX 3D experience, animated film, with an all-star voice cast, including Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth. Click on the amazon widget on the right to hear the soundtrack of the latter. IMDb.com also quotes many, many other variations on the title, including Flintstones, Barbie, Sesame Street, and Muppet Christmas Carol! If we were to include all of the amateur productions of this story (amateur dramatics groups/schools/clubs, etc., etc.) together with the countless professional ones, the numbers would run into thousands! There is a rendering of Dickens’ story to suit everybody. Reports on Zemeckis’ latest spectacle, using a highly advanced form of performance capture animation, range from how utterly amazing the visual effects are, to how very dark and sinister it is (well justifying its PG rating in Britain – scary for young ones) but all agree that it is pretty impressive!

Briefly, Ebenezer Scrooge, despite all his money, was a miserable, unhappy man and a hard, cruel boss to his clerk Bob Cratchet, who was a kind, lovable man, despite his circumstances. Scrooge begrudged him even one day free per year to celebrate Christmas, and made him work long hours in a freezing-cold office, paying him a pitence, on which medical help for his sick son, Tiny Tim, was out of the question. As the story unfolds, Scrooge is visited first by the ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley, warning him to change his miserly ways before it is too late, and later by a succession of three spirits. The first one, “The spirit of Christmas past” shows him how lucky he was as a child; then “The spirit of Christmas present” shows him what a miserable soul he has become and the circumstances of others, and “The spirit of Christmas yet to come” shows him the dire consequences unless he does something about it. Between them, they succeed in changing his heart and mind, such that he discovers the joy of giving and sharing, as well as receiving: the joy of Christmas!

Why did Dickens choose the name “A Christmas Carol”? Well he wrote his story in five ‘staves’ instead of the normal ‘chapters’ implying that he wanted it to read like a piece of music, perhaps a carol, rather than just a story. There is also a mention of a lone, brave carol-singer attempting to sing a carol to Scrooge through his keyhole on the Christmas Eve in question, and being driven away by the wielding of a threatening ruler by Scrooge. The singing of carols was definitely a community-minded activity, precisely not something for Scrooge!

Illustration by John Leech (‘Punch’ magazine cartoonist) showing Jacob Marley’s ghost visiting Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ (first edition, published by London-based Chapman & Hall in 1843).

The character Ebenezer Scrooge was very likely based on a real-life, eccentric gentleman, John Elwes, whose biography by Edward Topham published in 1790 instantly became a national bestseller. Dickens was a well-read man and would most certainly have read it. Elwes, born Meggot, assumed the name Elwes on being named heir to his bachelor uncle, Sir Hervey Elwes. He was never short of money as his father Robert Meggot was a wealthy brewer. Elwes was a patron of architects and was responsible for building half of Georgian London: the most part of St. James’s, Mayfair, Picadilly, Portland Place, Baker Street, Marylebone, and Oxford Circus. Despite being a millionaire, in later life he became a famous miser, dressing in rags and eating food full of maggots. He and the fictional Scrooge had other things in common, such as a jolly nephew and a skinny face with a pointed nose. However, there was one enormous difference: John Elwes inflicted his miserliness only on himself, always being kind, loving, and charming to others, and everybody adored him! A big difference, but still, the inspiration could have been there.

“A Christmas Carol” was not Charles Dickens greatest work. He completed it within six weeks just before Christmas 1843 to booster his faltering income from his novel “Martin Chuzzlewit”, which was being published in monthly installments. He was having big problems with his publisher, and he badly needed some ready cash as his wife was expecting their fifth child. On publication, which he ended up paying for himself, the book received a flood of criticism from powerful industrialists for being an indictment of industrial capitalism of the time. So why, despite not being his greatest masterpiece and its poor initial reception by “the people who mattered”, did “A Christmas Carol” go on to become probably his most popular book, and to even being credited with bringing back the merriment of Christmas?

Well, Christmas comes but once a year (once too often, some cynics might say), while for those of us who love Christmas, this annual event, including the build-up to, it is something very special! Of course, it is the celebration of the gift of the baby Jesus, born simply in a stable to bring hope and to lighten and brighten our world, with all its bad news. It is also the time to enjoy being with our loved ones (if at all possible), giving, sharing, eating and drinking and hopefully relaxing together, no matter how much or little money we have to spend on it. Not to forget the annual ritual: the sending of Christmas cards, which helps us reconnect with old friends and family members who we don’t get to see too often – very nice that the multitude of charity cards now help us to remember the disadvantaged at the same time. So the fact that Christmas comes round faithfully every year gives this story a head start. Like the pop stars with their Christmas hits, if Dickens were still alive he would be able to cash in on the royalties of his story each year, with all those countless performances, not to mention the book, which has apparently never been out of print! A charming children’s pop-up version of the book, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus and published by Methuen in 1986, is certainly out of print but good second-hand copies are still available from used-book sellers.

A fun, children’s pop-up version of “A Christmas Carol”, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus (published by Methuen in 1986).

So what can account for the allure of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”? Partly we may feel that we have to thank Dickens for re-energizing the festival which was once flagging and for giving us the nostalgic images of Christmastime in days gone by – but most especially, to my mind, the key is the opportunity given and taken to change for the better (it’s never too late) and the message of love and generosity which is embodied in the joy and wonder of Christmas.

How better to finish than with the original ending!

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!

THE END.

It is about a family whose passed-away mother (played by Meredith Baxter) comes back as an angel to see them for Christmas. Not only does she tie up loose ends that have been bothering her since her parting, she helps reunite her two daughters (played by Natasha Gregson Wagner and Tracey Needham), who have been drifting further apart with their very different lives and priorities. The father (played by Ronny Cox), whose health has been deteriorating, is over the moon to see his beloved wife again.

This heart-warming Christmas film is family friendly, but some children may find the mother’s death and her return as an angel scary or confusing.

The story of the movie revolves around Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) and Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), who are best friends during high school. Chris is sensitive and loving, but unfortunately rather overweight and goofy. Jamie is beautiful and very popular by comparison. At a party after their high school graduation (in 1995), Chris confesses to Jamie that he is totally in love with her. In front of the whole party, she responds by saying that she loves him like a brother. When the other people at the party make fun of him, he is really humilated and storms off saying that he’ll show them…

Ten years later, Chris is a handsome, successful record producer in Los Angeles. His personality seems to have changed completely and he has become a confident womanizer. Several days before Christmas, Chris is flying to Paris with an up-and-coming, self-obsessed pop singer Samantha James (Anna Faris). During their flight in her private jet, Samantha accidentally sets the microwave on fire by neglecting to remove the metal foil from her microwave meal. This results in an emergency landing in New Jersey, right near Chris’ hometown. So, they both go to his mother’s house for the night.

When they go to the local bar, Chris runs into some old friends, including Jamie, who now works there. He decides to stay in town longer so that he can meet up with her for a date. To me, it is not totally clear whether he is genuinely interested in her or whether he is just trying to seduce her to get revenge for leading him on and humiliating him in the past. Jamie is surprised by how much Chris has changed and does not feel that it has all been for the better. She is not sure if she likes him anymore. They do share some happy moments though, for instance, on Christmas Eve, while watching old home videos of themselves.

Their relationship is further complicated by the arrival of another (previously even nerdier) friend from the past. His name is Dusty Lee Dinkleman (Chris Klein) and he is clearly also interested in getting Jamie’s attention. Like Chris, he too has grown into an attractive and successul man. While he appears charming and gentlemanlike, he is actually only out to get revenge against Jamie because he is bitter that she didn’t pay him enough attention during highschool. When Chris finds out Dusty’s motives, he tells Jamie. She says that this is exactly what Dusty had said to her about Chris. She is very angry, and Chris and Jamie’s relationship appears to be over forever… Will such old friends be able to convert their awkward friendship into a long-lasting romance? Watch the movie to find out how their story ends!

The movie’s plot revolves around the Krank family, in particular, the parents Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis). Just after Thanksgiving, their daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) leaves home in order to work for the Peace Corps in Peru. On the way back from taking her to the airport, when Luther manages to get himself soaking wet from the rain, he sees a poster advertising a luxury cruise in the sun. After seeing this tempting poster and seeing how sad his wife Nora is about spending Christmas without their daughter, he decides to secretly calculate what they spent on Christmas the previous year. The total he comes up with is $6,132! He then surprises Nora with a brochure of the cruise. After she gets all excited, she realises that there must be a catch. He then reveals his idea of “skipping Christmas” this year and using the money they would have spent on Christmas on the cruise instead. She eventually comes round to the idea, but only when he agrees that they can still make their annual donations to charity.

So they are all set to skip Christmas. They won’t give gifts or cards and they won’t host their annual Christmas party for family and friends. They won’t buy a Christmas tree and they won’t put up decorations, much to the anger of their neighbours! In fact, all of their acquaintances are confused and upset by their “selfish” decision. Despite this, Luther and Nora continue to stand their ground.

However, when they are busy packing on Christmas Eve, everything is thrown up in the air when Blair calls from Miami airport to tell them she is on her way home for Christmas. Another surprise is that she is engaged to Enrique (René Lavan), whom she is bringing home with her! Nora and Luther quickly have to forget the cruise and get the house ready for a proper family Christmas. While Nora is ecstatic, Luther is clearly disappointed about missing the cruise. Nevertheless, together, they frantically start to organise everything as they do every year, this time in just a matter of hours, so that Blair won’t find out about their Christmas-skipping idea! Getting food and decorations at the last minute proves to be hectic and difficult…

Do they pull it off, and what happens to their expensive cruise tickets? Watch the movie if you want to know!

The movie is about a very young couple in New York, Rebecca (Vikki Krinsky) and Henry (Tommy Lioutas), who suddenly decide to get married after only knowing each other for six months. Since it is just before Christmas and they have never met each other’s families, they decide to arrange a family gathering with both sets of parents. While the two families spend time together in Henry’s small Christmas-obsessed hometown in Wisconsin, Rebecca and Henry quickly find out that they have had very different upbringings. Rebecca was raised Jewish and grew up in a rich part of LA, while Henry was raised in a small Christian town where everyone knew each other. As their parents try their best to avoid arguments about wedding arrangements, the engaged couple start to find out that they have very different ideas of what their future together will be like. Henry’s ex-girlfriend showing up and Rebecca’s mother accidentally running over one of Santa’s reindeer don’t help their already tense relationship. When the two arguing mothers realise that they will soon be family, and family is important, they set their differences aside and help to get everyone in the spirit of both Christmas and Hanukkah.

To me, the film was like a mixture of “Christmas with the Kranks” (2004), “Deck the Halls” (2006), “Christmas Vacation” (1989), “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (2002), “Meet the Parents/Fockers” (2000/2004), and “Father of the Bride” (1991)! If you like these films, I’m sure you will like this one!