Christmas

is an event that was, in 17th and 18th century Europe, dying out but given renewed interest by Charles Dickens's 1843 publication of a christmas carol as a secular holiday of social equality, sentimentality, family and generosity, whereby the family dinner is the hallmark of the celebration.

In fact, Russell Belk argues that Christmas traditions were dying out in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but that Charles Dickens's 1843 publication of A Christmas Carol renewed interest in the holiday. Among other things, Dickens's work stressed the importance of social equality, sentimentality, family, and generosity, and made the family dinner the hallmark of the celebration. Following its initial, serialized publication in London, serialized reprints of Dickens's work became available in Canada, appearing in the colony as early as 1844. With the advent of interest inspired by Dickens's secularized version of the Christmas season, upper-class Victorian society incorporated specific activities into its holiday celebration, among them Christmas dinner and the decoration of the Christmas tree (a German import introduced by Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert).

Russell BelkThinkers

Russell Belk