One of the greatest and most enduring works of English literature for Christmas ever published was A Christmas Carol by English author, Charles Dickens. His works were a critique of English society at the beginning of the 19th century and A Christmas Carol was no different. It was written at a time when the old Christmas traditions were in decline and Dicken's story is largely responsible for reviving the old traditions including social and charitable works. The story's recurrent theme is poverty and social injustice.
The story also gave the world one of literature's most infamous and comic characters, Ebenezer Scrooge. Mr. Scrooge is the central protagonist and he is a cold-hearted, stingy and selfish individual. To this day to be a Scrooge is an idiomatic way in English of describing someone with the same qualities.
In the story, the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley, comes to him to announce that he will be visited by three spirits: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Other characters include Scrooge's singular impoverished employee, Bob Cratchit and his family. Another of Dickens's best rembered characters is Cratchit's invalid son, Tiny Tim, who is dying because the family doesn't have the financial means to properly care for him. However, he is a happy boy who is best remembered for his line, "God bless us, every one!"
In order to learn more about the story, you'll just have to read it! If you are up to the challenge, you can read it online HERE! To buy a bilingual edition of A Christmas Carol (Un Chant de Noël) go to Amazon. It isn't expensive and it's worth the reading. The story has also been adapted many times to film. Two of my favorite versions include the 1984 version with George C. Scott and the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart of Star Trek fame.
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