Mike Parker: My favorite unsung Christmas carol
One reason I take such delight in the Christmas season comes from the pleasure I derive from Christmas music. “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “Away in a Manager,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High” spring immediately to mind.
But my favorite unsung Christmas carol came from the pen of Charles Dickens. The novella bears the title “A Christmas Carol.” The story is arranged in five “staves,” an odd word choice until we remember that Dickens is writing a “carol.” “Stave” is a musical term that means staff or clef. The notes of a melody take their sounds from their placement on the stave. Another use of “stave” suggests “stanza” – a verse of a song.
Most of us know the story that lies at the heart of “A Christmas Carol.” An old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a heartless employer who begrudges any time off for his clerk Bob Cratchit. Scrooge scoffs when his nephew Fred comes to visit, and he belittles Fred's celebration of Christmas. Scrooge expresses his disgust at the commercialism of the holiday – even though if anyone should understand the business end of Christmas, that person ought to be Scrooge.
As the story unfolds, four ghosts visit Scrooge. The ghost of Jacob Marley, his partner, comes first to confront Scrooge concerning his wrong-headed focus and to offer the chance of redemption. Then the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come all separately visit the old miser. Their task is to melt his heart of stone and open his eyes to the needs of others. They also want to help Scrooge understand the blessings he has enjoyed but has taken for granted. In the end, Scrooge is a changed man.
Dickens published “A Christmas Carol” on December 19, 1843. The writer had endured some of the hardships he details in the novella. Dickens, born in 1812, saw his father, a clerk in the Navy pay office, thrown into debtors’ prison in 1824. Dickens, who was only 12, was sent to work in a factory. Miserable treatment of children and the debtors' prison are issues addressed in several Dickens' novels.
In his late teens, Dickens became a reporter. He started publishing humorous short stories when he was 21. By 1837, Dickens had become the most popular author in Britain. “Oliver Twist” (1838) and “Nicholas Nickleby” (1839) reproduced the success of “The Pickwick Papers” (1837). In 1841, Dickens published two more novels and then spent five months in the United States, welcomed as a literary hero.
But by 1843, Dickens began to doubt his gift. He was struggling financially. He had written two novels that flopped. He needed a successful book to alleviate his money woes. Dickens started working on “A Christmas Carol” in October 1843. He was determined to have the book published in time for Christmas, so he wrote the entire novella in just six weeks.
Dickens hoped the book would bring him 1,000 pounds of compensation, about $1,325 in 1843 US dollars. I constantly told my students that we must convert any sum in today’s money to understand the value. One thousand pounds sterling in 1843 is worth more than $136,000 in today’s US money.
The initial print run of “A Christmas Carol” was 6,000 copies. The copies hit the shelves on December 19 and sold out within a week. Despite these sales, instead of receiving 1,000 pounds, Dickens received only 250 pounds – $34,000 in today’s money. The book featured hand-colored illustrations and gilt-edged pages, so production costs claimed much of what Dickens hoped would be his profits.
“A Christmas Carol” is just as compelling today as the story was in 1843. By the time you read these words, Sandra and I will have once again watched the film version of “A Christmas Carol” starring George C. Scott as Scrooge. “A Christmas Carol” is one of our Christmas traditions.
Whether you read the book or watch a film adaptation, let this story of redemption touch your heart.
One additional piece of trivia: Ebenezer comes from the Hebrew for “stone of help.” The prophet Samuel raised a stone to commemorate the assistance of God in the Israelite victory over the Philistines at Mizpah. Do you see the connection?
Finally, as Tiny Tim would say: “God bless us – everyone.”
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
