Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 1843

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! Here we are at 271 days before Christmas. Are you keeping up with your to-do lists to reduce stress around the holidays? I'll admit, I am slacking, though the Easter baskets will be all set by next Sunday. 

Let's wander back to Christmas 1843. This one is important, especially for lovers of the written word. But let's start with the first quarter of 1843 and work toward it. 

Photo credit: National Museum of American History

In March 1843, Samuel Morse, who had been working on the electro-magnetic telegraph for over a decade, built a telegraph system from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore with some assistance from a $30,000 appropriation from Congress. In mid-May of that year, the United Free Church of Scotland was formed. Then on May 22, the first wagon train left Missouri for Oregon along the Oregon Trail, with a committee appointed to establish a civil government that summer. 

An unexpected snowstorm hit Rochester and Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, on June 1, the same day that Isabella Baumfree would change her name to Sojourner Truth, leaving New York on a traveling tour to speak against slavery. 

Photo credit: kues1 on Freepik

In July of 1843, Great Britain would launch the SS Great Britain, the first vessel with an iron hull and screw propeller. Later that summer, American inventor Charles Thurber would patent the first practical typewriter. 

Image of Mr. Fezziwig's Ball from

  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Sketch by John Leech.

Photo credit to Wikimedia Commons

As the world entered December 1843, Manila paper was patented in Massachusetts, the first Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and sent by Queen Victoria, and Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol on December 19, with the first edition selling out by Christmas Eve. 

The Christmas of 1843 found the world on the cusp of cultural transformation. As people emmigrated from Europe, they brought their traditions with them to America, blending and adapting them across continents. The 1800s also saw Christianity expanding into Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, influencing how Christmas was observed or introduced. The Victorian Era in Great Britain was a time of industrial progress, making Christmas a holiday that more people could experience. 

However, much of what we call the spirit of Christmas is thanks to one man: Charles Dickens. Before 1843, some families celebrated while others let the day go unnoticed or treated it only as a religious observance. As A Christmas Carol made its way into homes, what Christmas felt like was rewritten. Through the miserly Scrooge, he showed readers what a life without charity, kindness, generosity, and social responsibility looked like. Dickens reminded us through the Cratchits that the holiday is not about extravagance; it's about spending time together. No longer just a date on the calendar, Christmas is a season with a shared spirit. 

Thank you, Charles Dickens, for giving Christmas its heart!

On Audible: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Narrated by Hugh Grant

 

Last week, I listened to this Audible edition of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens that was narrated by Hugh Grant. I first listened to it last year. It is my favorite so far, though I want to listen to the one narrated by Patrick Stewart to compare them. 

This is my favorite classic story of the season. Miserly Scrooge changes his ways after visits from his deceased business partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Scrooge is given a glimpse into all he has lost, how his lack of charity and compassion has impacted others, and what lies ahead if he doesn't heed Marley's warning. 

Dickens' Christmas tale has inspired numerous modern remakes in book format and has been adapted into dozens of movies, plays, cartoons, and modernized retellings. Hallmark Channel's 1999 version of A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart remains my favorite movie.

Oddly enough, even though I've loved the story of Scrooge for decades, I only recently read the book by Dickens. Have you read it? Which movie version is your favorite? Do you have a favorite retelling? 

I Watched This Movie So You Don't Have To - Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)

 

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is a Timeless Films production for Netflix that released in 2022. This animated film features the voice talents of:

• Luke Evans as Scrooge,
• Fra Fee as Harry, 
• Johnny Flynn as Bob Cratchit,
• Rupert Turnbull and Oliver Jenkins as Tiny Tim,
• Jonathan Pryce as Jacob Marley,
• Olivia Colman as the Ghost of Christmas Past,
• Trevor Dion Nicholas as the Ghost of Christmas Present,

and a host of others voicing characters that will likely be familiar to fans of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It tells the story of penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by his deceased partner and three ghosts on Christmas Eve, in the hopes of transforming Scrooge before it's too late. Though I have never seen the 1970 musical retelling of A Christmas Carol titled, Scrooge, starring Albert Finney, this animated version from last year is a remake of that. 

Technology being what it is these days, viewers can expect a supernatural, colorful, and sometimes frightening tale. I couldn't recommend this for young children. Marley's ghost looks more like an angry Flying Dutchman from SpongeBob SquarePants, than a tortured soul seeking to save his business partner from the same fate. The Ghost of Christmas Future and his flying goblins with flame-filled eyes might conjure up a few nightmares. 

One thing I didn't understand is that in the 1970's version starring Finney and in this 2022 Netflix version, Scrooge's nephew's name has been changed from Fred to Harry. Seems like such an odd change. 

While the voice talents of the actors was outstanding, I'll likely never watch Scrooge: A Christmas Carol again. The producers blended parts of the 1970's version with new ideas, but it fell flat. If it were more kid-friendly, like the Disney or Mr. Magoo version of A Christmas Carol, it might have been easier to enjoy. With the addition of Marley's dog, Prudence, who Scrooge takes care of, that is the direction one thought it might go in the beginning. But, those hopes are dashed quickly. 

Release date: December 2, 2022 (United States)

Countries of origin: United Kingdom, United States

Official site: Netflix

Production Companies: Timeless Films

Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

I watched this movie on Netflix. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Audible Novella Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Narrated by Hugh Grant

 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens tells the story of miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge, a wealthy partner at Scrooge & Marley. Set during the Christmas season, years after the death of Marley, Scrooge believes all the joy and gift giving of the season to be a humbug. This year, like in years past, he declines his nephew's invitation to Christmas dinner. Once he returns home for the evening, he is visited by Marley's ghost, who encourages him to change his stingy ways. Marley warns him he will be visited by three spirits. As Scrooge joins the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, he comes face to face with what he life was, is, and could be. He also learns more about his clerk Bob Cratchit and his young son, Tiny Tim. 

This seasonal historical tale has been a holiday classic for generations. The Audible version, narrated by Hugh Grant, is a superb performance of the story of the stingy Scrooge, who is transformed by three spirits who visit him. Grant captured all the characters so well. I would recommend listening to this any time of year.

• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-21-20
• Language: English
• Publisher: Audible Studios

This was a free Audible selection. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Christmas Nonfiction Spotlight: The Man Who Invented Christmas How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford

 

As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how one writer and one book revived the signal holiday of the Western world.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.

The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all. 

 With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; First Edition (November 4, 2008)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307405788
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307405784