A "Silent" Christmas Carol

(The silent film is from 1910)

      A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens, first published by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim.

      The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain when it was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

      The tale has been viewed by critics as an indictment of 19th-century industrial capitalism. It has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a period of sobriety and sombreness. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, stage, opera, and other media multiple times.

• A Christmas Carol original manuscript facsimile at Morgan Library with transcription and audio
• A Christmas Carol at Internet Archive
• A Christmas Carol e-book with illustrations
• A Christmas Carol Project Gutenberg free online book
• A Christmas Carol Free solo audio version at Archive.org
• A Christmas Carol University of Glasgow Special Collections
• A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens Website
• Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol (from NPR)

''When Santa Claus Comes"

Dreaming of toys for Christmas.

When Santa Claus Comes

A good time is coming, I wish it were here;

The very best time in the whole of the year.

I'm counting each day on my fingers and thumbs

The hour that must pass before Santa Claus comes.

Good-bye for a while, then, to lessons and school;

We can talk, laugh, and sing, without breaking the 

rule;

No troublesome spellers, no writing, nor sums,

There's nothing but play time, when Santa Claus 

comes.

I suppose I shall have a new dolly, of course,

My last one was killed by a fall from her horse;

While for Harry and Jack, there'll be trumpets and

drums,

To deafen us with when Santa Claus comes.

I'll hang up my stocking to hold what he brings;

I hope he will fill it with lots of good things;

He must know how dearly I love supar plums,

I'd like a big box full, when Santa Claus comes.

And now that the snowflakes begin to come down,

And the wind whistles sharp, and the branches are

brown,

I don't mind the cold, though my fingers it numbs,

'Cause it brings the time nearer when Santa Claus

comes.

 

 

        Did you know that a Danish custom is the breaking of china and crockery on New Year's Day against the doors of friends' houses. The family who has the largest pile of smashed crockery before its door is the best-loved. For this custom, Danes hoard all their broken crockery throughout the year! To see what Christmas is like in a Danish city, Copenhagen visit via a video...

Parents, Colin and Meg take their adorable girls to 

Copenhagen to experience Christmas!

"The Snowman"

Cover of children's storybook.

     The Snowman was adapted as a 26-minute animated film by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling British public-service Channel 4. It was first telecast on 26 December 1982 and was an immediate success. It was nominated for the 1982 Academy Award for Animated Short Film. 

     The film story is told through pictures, action and music, scored by Howard Blake. It is wordless like the book, except for the song "Walking in the Air". In addition to the orchestral score, performed in the film by the Sinfonia of London, Blake composed the music and lyrics of the song, performed by a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty. 

      The film ranks 71 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programs in a year 2000 list drawn up by the British Film Institute, based on a vote by industry professionals. It was voted number 4 in UKTV Gold's Greatest TV Christmas Moments.

• Snowman Enterprises, Ltd. Official website
• The Snowman at the Internet Movie Database
• The Snowman at BFI screenonline
• Recordings of "The Snowman" and "Walking In The Air"
• Toonhound: Book (1978), Animated short (1982)
• The Snowman in libraries (WorldCat catalog) —immediately, first US edition
• Father Christmas in libraries (WorldCat catalog) —immediately, first US edition

Christmas Poem by Scott

Christmas

by Scott

And well our Christian sires of old

Loved when the year its course had rolled,

And brought blithe Christmas back again,

With all his hospitable train,

Domestic and religious rite

Gave honor to the holy night;

On Christmas eve the mass was sung;

That only night in all the year

Saw the stoled priest the calice rear.

The damsel donned her kirtle sheen;

The hall was dressed in holly green.

Forth to the wood did merry men go

To gather in the mistletoe.

Then opened wide the baron's hall,

To vassal, tenant, serf and all;

Power laid his rod of rule aside,

And ceremony doffed his pride.

The heir with roses in his shoes

That night might village partner choose.

The lord under a gating share

The merry game of "Post and pair."

All hailed with uncontrolled delight

And generous voice the happy night,

That to the cottage and the crown 

Brought tidings of salvation down.

Antique Belsnickle Postcard

        Download and print these restored antique Christmas postcards to include in your homespun crafts this holiday season! Read our Terms of Use first; images are for personal use only.

This old-fashioned belsnickle carries a fir tree and a sack of toys for some lucky little girl or boy.
 There is a little country church in the background and he is framed with poinsettias.

Belsnickle lights a Christmas taper.