Christmas and Dickens

Today begins the long process of lengthening days and the return of the sun. For those of us in the northern latitudes, more sunshine is always welcome. In another day or two is Christmas, originally a Christian festival that's now taken over the world. The formerly religious holiday has become a general festival of good cheer and good will. Given that this time of year seems to have always spawned such, it's really not surprising to see Buddhist and Hindu nations celebrating. Christmas is celebrated in Japan with general fun, gift-giving, and fried chicken. In India where only 2% or so are Christian, the holiday is celebrated by many more with gifts and Christmas trees. The holiday is wonderful. It signals a return of light and a renewal of happiness in an otherwise dark time.

John Leech "Marley's Ghost," 1843

Surprisingly--or perhaps not--much of the art of Christmas is religious, devoted to the story of the birth of Jesus and the stories about shepherds and wise men (or maybe kings) and all of that. Much of that art was commissioned by the Church as narrative, of course, and the holiday itself wasn't all that popular in a large part of the world for several hundred years. So secular art about Christmas really doesn't start to show up until perhaps the mid-19th century or so. There are those who say that Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," published just before the holiday in 1843 is most responsible for reviving Christmas, at least in England. Perhaps so. Certainly, according to biographers anyway, Dickens loved Christmas and was unfailing jolly during the season. That first Christmas offering, by the way, was followed by a Christmas offering every year.

John Leech, "Ghost of Christmas Present," 1843

The first edition of "A Christmas Carol" was illustrated with a series of steel engravings depicting various events in the story, from the appearance of Marley's ghost to the final denouement. The illustrator was a well-known English caricaturist, John Leech who had established himself as the main caricaturist for the English humor magazine, Punch. Leech had originally studied medicine, but art beckoned, and by his twenties he was published widely. 

The most interesting, perhaps, of Leech's works for Christmas Carol was his image of the Ghost of Christmas present who was shown in a green robe and surrounded by the makings of a giant feast. Dickens insisted that the robe be green because that's how he described the ghost. Leech had made the robe a bright red and grumbled but made the change. 

In any event, Charles Dickens, for perhaps a century or so at least, transformed Christmas into a snowy, cheery, wonderful holiday, aided in no small part by John Leech. 

Merry Christmas and may God bless us, every one!