Chapter: 67
Christmas. The most extravagant and joyous holiday in Christian culture.
Children are not crying, adults are enjoying a feast, young people are in love, and shops are glimmering with a rainbow of decorations—this delightful creation is none other than Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Mr. Kindersley, flipping to the last page of the manuscript he was reading, muttered with a voice that seemed to have lost its spirit a bit.
“Reading this novel makes me realize how much I’ve been wasting my precious Christmas time…”
“Well, you’ve been really busy. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
“If the author had gifted this novel to me for Christmas, it would’ve been the best Christmas present ever! Gah, I wish I hadn’t taken that break!”
“Then you wouldn’t have gotten this manuscript, would you?”
“That’s true, but… ahhhhhh!”
Suddenly, Mr. Kindersley screamed and started tugging at his own hair.
After letting out a long sigh as if he felt a bit relieved, he returned to his normal young business-savvy self and continued.
“But, Mr. Author?”
“Yes, boss. Was there something wrong with the manuscript?”
“No! It’s perfect again! It truly feels like a dream… This novel… wouldn’t it be better to publish it right before Christmas, rather than now? After all, it’s a Christmas-themed novel… I think readers would connect with it better that way.”
“Ah.”
It was definitely true that, considering the subject, publishing it close to Christmas would attract more readers.
Publishing it now that Christmas has just passed felt a bit like playing catch-up. Seasonal products usually start selling a season ahead, after all.
But.
What I was trying to do wasn’t to latch onto the “Christmas” holiday.
“Still, wouldn’t it be exciting? You could look forward to Christmas and prepare for it all year long.”
“That’s… you have a point there.”
I was trying to ‘create’ a new holiday called ‘Christmas’ in this world.
In the process, I wanted as many people as possible to remember Christmas. I wanted them to feel a twinge of regret for not enjoying it fully, to recall old Christmas memories, to ask friends how their Christmases went, and to conclude, “So this is what Christmas is all about.”
And when the next Christmas came around,
I wanted everyone to prepare for it enthusiastically, celebrating with more color and warmth than ever before.
Because Christmas is all about that.
If the streets aren’t filled with carols and decorations, can you even call it Christmas?
“Isn’t it fun just imagining it? Picture a year where everyone is waiting for the next Christmas: children not crying, adults reminiscing about Christmas traditions in their studies, young folks getting all fancy for the most extravagant Christmas, and merchants happily thinking about selling Christmas goods—and all of that after a year of full on Christmas prep covering the capital!”
“I thought you weren’t that kind of writer… Aren’t you planning to just read on Christmas?”
“My boss knows me too well!”
“Hehe, but still, I can totally see the Christmas you imagine being incredibly beautiful…”
It must indeed be beautiful. Christmas is beautiful, and that’s why so many things from the 21st century have depicted snowy Christmas Eves as backdrops for stories that are far more romantic and silly than we can ever dare to imagine.
How ridiculous is it to even picture it?
A snowy Christmas Eve. Streets sparkling with colorful lights. A rickety lamppost standing at the edge of the street. Two people racing across the vibrant street, professing their love under the dim lamppost.
It’s so cheesy it makes you want to shiver.
– “Isn’t the cheesiness what makes it even better?”
After all, sometimes there are great stories hidden in that cheesiness.
.
.
.
On a New Year’s Day after Christmas, “A Christmas Carol” was published.
News of Homer’s new work spread rapidly throughout the Empire.
It’s not even anything new at this point—
“Everyone, Merry Christmas! Here’s to a happy new year for the whole world!”
“I feel like I’ve turned into Scrooge… Why have I been so carefree all these years?”
The novel that was published this time was Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Even those who had become quite familiar with literature and were immune to “over-immersion” couldn’t help but be caught up in the festive spirit of “A Christmas Carol.”
As much as I shook my head at Scrooge’s coldness, seeing the emaciated children and Scrooge’s grim future felt like a gut punch.
“I will never become Scrooge!”
“It’s a sin against God for a person to be cruel to another! The key to heaven is kindness and goodness! Let’s help each other! Listen to one another! Imagine each other’s happiness! Making a better future through goodwill is a privilege given to us by God!”
Honestly, this is not much different from fairy tales. It’s all about promoting goodness and warning against evil.
“A Christmas Carol” held within it a childlike, clichéd, and overly simplistic moral lesson.
Some critics even pointed out this fact to criticize “A Christmas Carol.” Calling it an anachronistic novel, filled with outdated ideas.
And then.
“Homer is the name of this era! You critics denying the divinity of Homer are what’s out of touch with the times!”
“What?”
After a brief “discussion” with the Homer fans, he rapidly reversed his stance.
But even such reactions don’t fully account for the impact of “A Christmas Carol.”
The “Christmas Carols” are—.
“High Priest!”
“Ah, Sister. Please don’t run in the hallways; it’s dangerous. The kids will see and learn from you!”
“Uh, that’s— the noble members of the Council—”
“Is it a donation again? Hmmm, we’re not short on anything, so I’ll discuss it with the church to see if the donation can go to the almshouses—”
“You’ve come to volunteer!”
“…Excuse me?”
“You’re here holding our children’s hands and listening to their stories! Some nobles are even hugging their backs, saying sorry—”
You touched hearts.
You made people feel shame for their selfishness and guilt for their indifference.
You made them empathize with others’ sorrow.
And so.
“Father Superior, maybe our children…”
“…”
“When they graduate from the daycare, could they perhaps… get into Parliament… the House of Commons?”
You made people consider others as “people.”
“Let’s pray. No, first let’s rush to meet those kind folks who came to volunteer. Quick now.”
“Didn’t you just say not to run in the hall?”
“Hmmm. Actually, I think it’s probably okay to run once in a while in the hall.”
“…Haha, okay!”
.
.
.
“Sir, we have reports from the two foundations you are overseeing.”
“Hmm? Just set them down; I’ll check later.”
“Yes. This quarter, the number of donors has increased several times compared to last year. It’s likely due to the impact of ‘A Christmas Carol.’”
“Really?”
“Aren’t you surprised?”
“No, I figured as much already…”
The influence of “A Christmas Carol” is so overwhelming that it’s not an exaggeration to say it affects the entire society.
In my past life on Earth, it was Charles Dickens who created the culture of “Christmas,” and “A Christmas Carol” has a particularly strong social critique aspect.
To be a bit dramatic…
“A Christmas Carol is a masterful work because it turned Christmas into a symbol of peace and unity.”
I could easily say that.
“Christmas,” after all, belongs to Charles Dickens.
“Really?”
“No, well, it’s going to be that way from now on.”
“Is that so? You seem to hold this work in particularly high regard.”
“As far as social impact goes, definitely.”
Not one drop of monstrous hatred or dreadful malice—not even the most wicked thoughts—can enter the mind when “A Christmas Carol” plays. No one can ignore others during Christmas. The Salvation Army’s charity pots, often spotted around during Christmas, stand as one such symbol of that.
There are plenty of other examples that symbolize Christmas’s peace. After all, Christmas is the grandest holiday in Christian cultures, and since the age of imperialism, those cultures have dominated half the world—isn’t that right?
But if we’re to find the most dramatic example…
That would be—
The event known as the Christmas Truce.
“Are you saying that when Christmas carols play, soldiers at war lay down their weapons and become friends?”
“Yup.”
“Hmm, even if it’s fiction, I think a story like that would probably get criticized for being way too far-fetched.”
“Right? Same here.”
Yeah.
I think Earth writers are just way too relaxed in how they tell their stories.
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