A Christmas Carol-Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol-Charles Dickens

Well, it is Christmas and I just have to post about A Christmas Carol. Over the course of forty years, I have accomplished the goal of reading every work of Charles Dickens, and I owe it all to the first book I read by him, A Christmas Carol. I was first exposed to A Christmas Carol at a department store display in Mpls., MN. If any of you reading this live in Minnesota , you may remember the Dicken's London Towne animated figure display at Dayton's Department Store. It was a magical, wonderful exhibit in their auditorium with moving figures (like at Disneyworld) all dressed up as Dickens characters. Spectators would wind through the snowy streets of 19th Century London and peek through mullioned windows at the characters inside. Some of the scenes were Fezziwig's warehouse during the Christmas Eve ball, Fagin's hideout in Oliver Twist and many more. I wish I could revisit it because, at the time, I was a child and unfamiliar with all of his books, so I did not know who all the figures were representing. I did recognize though, Ebenezer Scrooge and his ethereal guides. I was captivated and from that point I was determined to read A Christmas Carol. Initially I thought it was sacreligious, (being a good little Catholic girl) pairing ghosts with Christmas, but I soon set my narrow views aside and devoured the book. To this day I give this short novel and Dayton's Dept. Store credit for giving me my life long love affair with Charles Dickens.

What memories do you have of this book or other novels about the season?