A Christmas Carol (1843) is a novella by Charles Dickens, illustrated by
John Leech. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser
who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley
and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their
visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. Dickens wrote
the story during a period when the British were exploring and re-
evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer
customs such as Christmas trees. His Christmas stories (including three
before and four after this one) were influenced by those of other
authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas William Jerrold. Parts
of the novella point out the misery that poor children often endured;
Dickens had recently witnessed appalling conditions for children working
in the Cornish tin mines. He gave 128 public readings of A Christmas
Carol, including his farewell performance in 1870, the year of his
death.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
The Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously
performing arts organization in the United States, made its debut at
King's Chapel in Boston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handel_and_Haydn_Society>
1941:
Second World War: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began
when Mark Aitchison Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered the
territory to Japan after 18 days of fierce fighting.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Hong_Kong>
1968:
In Tamil Nadu, India, families of striking Dalit workers were
massacred by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilvenmani_massacre>
2009:
Fire destroyed Longford's 19th-century St Mel's Cathedral,
considered the "flagship cathedral" of the Irish midlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mel%27s_cathedral,_Longford>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Charlie Brown tree:
A Christmas tree considered unattractive and undesirable by normal
standards, often small and sparse.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Charlie_Brown_tree>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Christmas turns everything upside down. This is the central truth
of the incarnation — "Immanuel, God with us." The upside of heaven
come down to earth. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we
beheld his glory, . . . full of grace and truth." Men miss the entire
meaning of Jesus when they see in him the highest upreach of man; he is
God reaching down and making common cause with man's struggle. The
meaning of Christmas puts down the mighty things in men's minds from
their seats — place, riches, talents — and exalts the things of low
degree — humility, simplicity, and trust.
--Halford E. Luccock
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Halford_E._Luccock>