There was a time during the middle of the 17th century when it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in most of the English-speaking world. Apparently the Puritans found all of the joy and present-giving and decorations to be shameless and pagan. Even after the laws against celebrating Christmas were taken off the books, Christmas remained a lesser holiday. As late as 1843, there were no Christmas trees in England or the United States, no Christmas turkeys, no Christmas cards and no Christmas presents. All these things followed the enormous success of a book by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol in Prose published just before Christmas in 1843.

A recent biography of Charles Dickens by Les Standiford describes how Dickens “invented,” or perhaps more appropriately, reinvigorated Christmas. Dickens was by far the most popular contemporary author in England. His Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and The Old Curiosity Shop had made him a literary giant. However, as 1843 rolled around, Dickens had written two unpopular books in a row, Martin Chuzzlewit and the crabby American Notes. Critical and popular opinion had turned against him. He was facing bankruptcy and ready to quit writing. In early October, he had accepted a speaking engagement at a workingmen’s club, the Athenaeum, and his speech there was warmly received. He walked the streets of Manchester that October night recalling how he had lost his way, how he needed to get back to plain storytelling “without browbeating or scolding, or mounting a soapbox.” As he continued his evening walks, a tale began to form in his mind, a tale of a mean-spirited miser who is visited by ghosts, ghosts of his past, present and likely future. The result, of course, was A Christmas Carol, his tale of Scrooge, the ghost of Jacob Marley, the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim. He wrote the 30,000 word manuscript in six weeks and published it himself on December 19, 1843.

The first printing of 6,000 copies flew off the shelves before Christmas that year and the second and third printings were exhausted almost immediately. The book has sold millions of copies, spawned dozens of stage, movie and television productions and its plot and characters are staples in popular culture. Everyone knows a Scrooge.

What might account for the popularity of this book? It seems to me that the heart of the book is the thesis that people can change, that people can be changed, can be made new by being confronted with the truth, confronted with the likely consequences of their actions. The relentless pursuit of gain is trumped by generosity, charity and compassion.

Now, A Christmas Carol is a thoroughly secular book and the Christmas holiday itself has wandered far from its roots as a commemoration of the birth of the Messiah and become as much a celebration of human consumption as God’s compassion. But Christmas and the start of a New Year can help to remind us that the Good News is that we have been saved and can be changed, that we are free to enter into new relationships with God and with each other, that the ghosts of our past are just that, powerless spirits compared with the Spirit of Power. May the New Year bring you into a new, deeper spirituality and discipleship. It’s not humbug.

Pastor Greg