Wednesday 14 December 2011

A ghostly Christmas...

Bah Humbug!
Christmas is almost upon us and the frenzy of shopping and socialising is building day to day like a good, page turning, suspense novel!
But before I get into my post proper I need to apologise for my ‘no show’. My blog has been on hold for the last two weeks because I have been away on holiday and not within reach of a decent internet connection. BUT now I’m back - so it’s full steam ahead from here on in!
So, back to a Christmas Carol, of sorts…
At this time of year I always enjoy reading (or watching an adaptation) of Dickens Christmas Carol. As ghost stories go, it’s got to be THE classic. I often wonder if writers like Dickens ever had any idea just how time-honoured their writing would become. Every school child has heard of the story and most have watched a version of it on TV. If you ask people who Bob Cratchett was, I think most would associate the name as synonymous with a poor working class family man who was bullied mercilessly by his penny-pinching employer. And the word ‘scrooge’ (from Ebenezer Scrooge) came into common parlance after Dickens wrote his story. The word has come to be used to describe someone who is mean and miserly.
The story is of course a morality tale and Dickens meant it as such. But the scenes with the ghosts must have been pretty scary to readers and listeners of the day and even today it ranks with many as an all time favourite and goes with Christmas tide nicely as we should all be more aware of those less fortunate than ourselves. I know it made a lasting impression on me when I first heard it as a child and alongside believing in Santa Claus, I also believed in the ghosts of Dickens tale.
Since Dickens’s time many have tried to write similar stories but none, in my opinion, come close to capturing the sense of fear about the hereafter that “A Christmas Carol” did.
Happy Christmas and happy writing everyone!
Do you have a favourite Christmas story?

7 comments:

  1. It's expressly against the rules to blog whilst on holiday, unless you host a travel blog. :)

    A Christmas Carol is my favorite Christmas story followed closely by It's a Wonderful Life, which I hesitate to admit I still enjoy. It's been played so many times on the TV...

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  2. Christmas Story is my favorite. Those scenes could have been from my childhood. Glad you're back.

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  3. I agree! What a masterpiece, and you know things are when characters or other words come into general usage, like "Scrooge." I also like The Grinch and Charlie Brown's Christmas (childhood faves). :)

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  4. Happy Christmas to you, Pat.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts and pictures with us.

    I look forward to catching up with you again in the New Year

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  5. Great post, Pat.

    It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite Christmas story.

    The notion of who you've touched and helped in life without even knowing it, and how it creates a chain reaction if you were never born, is intriguing.

    Hope you had a relaxing holiday.

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  6. I agree, Denise. It's a wonderful life is a great feel good film!

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  7. Thanks for joining me, Pat! Good luck with the writing in 2012.

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