It has to be Dickens, whose descriptions (few and far between) have become the epitome of what Christmas celebrations ought to be but rarely are. As Tory Historian has a strong aversion to A Christmas Carol, here is that well-known illustration from Pickwick Papers and the celebration of Christmas at Dingley Dell with Mr Pickwick and the old lady leading an old-fashioned dance.
Merry Christmas to all.
Merry Christmas!
I've been away and just spotted this post. May I ask why you have a strong aversion to A Christmas Carol? I just wondered.
PS Belated Merry christmas and Happy New Year!
Certainly, Charlotte. Though wonderfully written, A Christmas Carol is daft and sentimental even by Dickens's standards. Any reason why I should sympathize with Bob Cratchitt, who has not the nous either to get another job or to stop producing quite so many children? The problem with Dickens is that he had no understanding of work except, maybe, writing. Being a clerk was a great way up in the rapidly growing Victorian economy. What Dickens describes is completely out of date, indeed out of one's ken. That's true in his other novels as well but the good bits outweigh the bad ones. Here, not so much. Orwell made some very good points about Dickens's lack of understanding of working life.
http://conservativehistory.blogspot.com/2006/12/dickens-and-orwell-radical.html