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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 57,089
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Charles Dickens invented Christmas
So that's who you folks that grumble have to thank.
BBC News - Charles Dickens: Six things he gave the modern world
Quote:
Modern commentators have described Dickens as "the man who invented Christmas". Not obviously the religious festival, but the wider popular culture phenomenon that surrounds it.
In the early 19th Century, Christmas had become "scarcely worth a mention", according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt.
As an example, the committee of the Carlton Club, which ran the Conservative Party at the time, arranged ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day itself.
While Prince Albert is often credited with the revival of Christmas and the introduction of the Christmas tree, many believe that Dickens's popular depictions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come.
Specifically, the idea of a white Christmas - which was and still remains a relatively uncommon occurrence in much of the UK - appears in A Christmas Carol as if it happened each and every year.
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Steve
'08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960
- never named a car before, but this is Charlotte.
'88 targa  SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
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