A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (commonly known as A Christmas Carol) is what Charles Dickens described as his 'little Christmas Book' and was first published on December 19, 1843 with illustrations by John Leech. The first of the author's five 'Christmas books', the story was instantly successful, selling over six thousand copies in one week. Although originally written under financial duress to help Dickens to pay off a debt, the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time. Contemporaries noted that the story's popularity played a critical role in redefining the importance of Christmas and the major sentiments associated with the holiday. A Christmas Carol was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. 'If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease', said English poet Thomas Hood.
A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one night, which if it doesn't change his ways he will end up like his friend Jacob Marley, walking the Earth forever, being nothing but invisible and lonely. Mr. Scrooge is a financier/money-changer who has devoted his life to the accumulation of wealth. He holds anything other than money in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol
Ironically, I just watched the video @ http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8817517652455175582 couple of days ago. A Christmas Carol was published in 1843, and yet it is still relevant today, as Wall Street/Main Street events proves, really.
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