{"id":1761,"date":"2019-12-01T09:08:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T09:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/enterthemission.com\/melbourne\/?p=1761"},"modified":"2026-09-30T20:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T10:30:19","slug":"5-facts-about-a-christmas-carol-you-would-never-have-guessed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterthemission.com\/melbourne\/5-facts-about-a-christmas-carol-you-would-never-have-guessed\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Lesser Known A Christmas Carol Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Google \u2018The Best Christmas Book\u2019, and you\u2019ll find a lot of different lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some might be evenly balanced between older and more traditional Christmas offerings; others may have more of a diverse lineup, including more modern takes on Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there is almost no \u2018The Best Christmas Book\u2019 list that does not<\/em> include A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong> by Charles Dickens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost two hundred years after it was written, A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong> continues to enthral readers across the world. It is also considered a Christmas classic.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, as may be expected from such a famous book, A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong> has its own world of amazing, astonishing and fun facts.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the 5 interesting facts about A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong> that you never would have guessed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Facts<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is a Trendsetter<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On almost every other occasion, we say \u2018Happy\u2019, not \u2018Merry\u2019. Happy New Year, Happy Easter, Happy Birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, why do we use \u2018Merry Christmas\u2019 and not \u2018Happy Christmas\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you guess?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was A Christmas Carol that did it\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Merry Christmas\u2019 was in use pre-1843; however, \u2018Happy Christmas\u2019 was the more popular greeting, by far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidence suggests that it was the 21<\/strong> appearances of \u2018Merry Christmas\u2019 in A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong> that tipped the balance towards \u2018Merry Christmas\u2019; within a few decades, \u2018Happy Christmas\u2019 had been conclusively dethroned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It inspired two other books on Christmas<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mr Dickens and his Carol<\/em><\/strong> by Samantha Silva and The Man Who Invented Christmas<\/em><\/strong> by Les Standiford are both very famous books on Christmas, and both are based on Charles Dickens’ writing A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncover other Christmas books and classics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Merry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charles Dickens gave the Idea to Charles Dickens<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The inspiration to base his book on the spirit of Christmas and caring for the poor came to Mr Dickens as he spoke at a fundraising event for the Manchester Athenaeum – a very famous social club of that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the idea for the plot – a miserly individual being inspired to adopt gentler ways by Christmas – came from the story of Gabriel Grubb, a mean-spirited gravedigger who is kidnapped by goblins and convinced to become a kinder man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spoiler Alert<\/strong>: A Christmas Carol is one of the Christmas stories to be read during Christmas time. It consists of a ghost but is not exactly a traditional ghost story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who was Gabriel Grubb?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel Grubb was the main character of The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton<\/em><\/strong>, a part of a series of stories called The Pickwick Papers<\/em><\/strong>, written by…wait for it …Charles Dickens himself.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you camped outside an Apple store for an iPhone release?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now imagine doing that in the 1870s, in winter – a snowy winter – for a reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confused?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s exactly how popular A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong> was in those times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Dickens used to give public readings of his works. When he did so in the United States, people would camp outside the venue in the winter snow to get tickets. The opening lines would be at least a mile long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all this before social media and mass marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take that, Apple!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did he have any particular habits during his readings?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, he did. He used to maintain a very specific diet while he was giving readings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n