CHRISTMAS CAROL

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

The book was written and published at a time when Britain 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’s 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 the Christmas stories of Washington Irving.
Traditionally, carols have often been based on chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like Good King Wenceslas and The Holly and The Ivy can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages and are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung.