Charles Dickens Christmas Tradition

"The Life Of Our Lord. This religious work was written by Dickens between 1846 and 1849, while writing David Copperfield. Always a devoted Christian, Dickens wrote The Life of Our Lord exclusively for his children, to whom he read it aloud every Christmas. He strictly forbade publication of the text during his lifetime and begged his sister-in-law to make sure that the Dickens family "would never even hand the manuscript, or a copy of it, to anyone to take out of the house." The handwritten manuscript was passed down after Dickens' death in 1870 to Georgina Hogarth and on her death in 1917 it came into the possession of Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, Dickens' last surviving son. The Dickens family continued to read it every Christmas and delayed publication until the last of his children passed away."

~  Delphi Complete Works of Charles Dickens

What a beautiful tradition.

This morning I woke up and listened to an audio recording of The Life of Our Lord, taking in the beautiful testimony of Charles Dickens.  It seems almost intrusive to listen to it, knowing now the sacredness of this text.  

Theater houses everywhere show A Christmas Carol this time of year, another one of Dickens writings.  A ghost story telling of a haunted scrooge until he discovers and awakes to the wondrous Christmas spirit.  I don't know how often Charles read this story to his kids.  Was this a Christmas tradition?  

Charles Dickens reading aloud his telling of the life of Christ to his family every Christmas is... there are no words to describe what I'm now feeling.  There's a gentleness, a peace, a love.  Remembering more than Christ birth and taking in what it means to be a Christian, and the gift of Christ's life for us, his blessings, his miracles, his goodness.

I was reading a one star review criticizing doctrinal errors in The Life of Our Lord.  Criticizing something that Dickens never wanted published.  Criticizing the testimony and faith that was a wish to remain private and sacred, a gift Dickens gave to his children.  And in this text we see what Dickens believes and values.

It's so easy getting caught up in the little traditions of this season.  There's nothing wrong with Santa and Christmas trees, but lets never forget the "Christ" in Christmas.

Merry Christmas,

Sarah

Groundhog Day: More or Less Winter?

(Public Domain)

Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog didn't see his shadow this morning in Philadelphia, and you know what that means!  Spring is coming early . . . or is it?

According to the Stormfax Almanac Phil has been right only 39% since 1887.  Those aren't great, dependable odds, and that only leads me to realize that I should believe the opposite of whatever tradition dictates.  Technically with that average we have a 61% chance of more Winter.  That I do believe.  This Winter has been insane with snow, fog, and freezing rain.  There doesn't seem to be an end in sight.   

I've always believed the groundhog tradition to be counter-intuitive.  If a groundhog sees his shadow, that means there's Sun.  If there's Sun there's warmth, and anything warm isn't Wintery.  So where did this backward thinking, and proven more times wrong then right, tradition begin?

In early America February 2 was called Candlemas day, A Christian Holiday celebrating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, and like all good Christian holidays, the Christian Holiday mingled with the pagan Imbolc, which is a Gaelic season festival between the Winter solstice and Spring equinox.

A diary entry written February 4, 1841 by James Morris in Pennsylvania reads:   

Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.  

And an old English poem reads: 

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

Another fun note: Back in Europe they depended on the badger instead of the groundhog.

I do admire a holiday that hasn't been overly commercialized, because everything is commercial these days.

So bundle up!  Grab some Hot Chocolate, because, no offense Phil, we've got many more cold days of Winter ahead of us.   

Sarah