Christmas Literature

Everybody's heard of Charles Dickens' story  "A Christmas Carol."  There have been countless renditions of it from Disney's cartoon version with Mickey Mouse and the gang, to a one-man stage performance  by Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek: The Next Generation tv series) which has been a feature throughout the Christmas season for many years.  Interestingly, Patrick Stewart has also appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge in a more mainstream film version of the story as well (as have many other well-known actors throughout the history of cinema).

It's said that Dickens wrote this story in a matter of weeks because his previous work, Martin Chuzzlewit didn't sell very well, and he needed the money, and it has since become his most famous work. 

But did you know that Charles Dickens wrote several other Christmas stories, including "The Chimes" (1844), "Cricket on the Hearth" (1845) and a series of Christmas-themed short stories which he published in holiday editions of his two magazines, Household Words and All the Year Round?

Did you also know that Charles Dickens apparently accredited an American author's earlier book, sometimes known as "Old Christmas" as an influence on his own Christmas writings, including "A Christmas Carol"?

"Old Christmas" was written by an American author Washington Irving (1782-1859).   In his stories, Irving portrayed an idealized celebration of old-fashioned Christmas customs at a quaint English manor, that depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he had experienced while staying in  Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned. 

He in turn used text from "The Vindication of Christmas" (London 1652) of old English Christmas traditions, which he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories. "The Sketch Book" in turn contributed to the revival and reinterpretation of the Christmas holiday in the United States. (It might also surprise you to know that Irving is the person who popularized the nickname "Gotham" for New York City which was later used in the Batman comics, and he coined the phrase  "the almighty dollar"!)

However, there are many other famous (and not so famous) authors who have been inspired by Christmas so much they've written about it, including William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Truman Capote, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hans Christian Anderson, Mark Twain and even the 20th century crime queen herself, Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot's Christmas) to name a few.

A well-known story, "The Gift of the Magi" by O.Henry is one such story which many find quite sad, but which truly epitomises the spirit of giving and sacrifice that is prevalent at Christmas.

And who can forget Dr Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" or the letter that appeared in the New York's "Sun" newspaper in 1867, known today as "Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus" (http://www.nysun.com/editorials/yes-virginia/68502/)

Another of my family's favourite Christmas stories is Selma Lagerlof's "The Holy Night"  which a few years ago I read to my son (his choice) as he went to bed every night leading up to Christmas. Selma Lagerlof was the first female author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

It's become somewhat of a tradition in our household to read a Christmas story each year to my son around bedtime during the Christmas period - initially these were short stories, but the last few years we've expanded to include novels as he's grown older.

Last year, I came across another book I think is just brilliant and certainly an interesting interpretation of another Christmas legend, Santa Claus.  The book is called "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" written by Jeff Guinn and published in 1994.

But of course, in addition to "A Christmas Carol", the most famous and popular piece of literature about Christmas, and particularly Santa Claus, would have to be a poem that has been attributed to Clement C Moore (another American author, who was born in 1779). 

This poem first appeared anonymously in New York's "Sentinel" newspaper in 1823, and was reprinted frequently thereafter.  Clement Moore acknowledged authorship of the poem and included it in an 1844 anthology of his works at the insistence of his children, for whom, it is said, he had written the poem, very quickly, one night.  Originally entitled "A visit from St Nicholas" it is more commonly known today as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

Christmas is truly a magical time that inspires many to creativity.