The Allusionist

69. How the Dickens stole Christmas

Charles Dickens wrote about the plight of the impoverished and destitute members of British society. So how come his name is a synonym for rosy-cheeked, full-stomached, fattened-goose, hearty merry “God bless us every one” Christmas? Avery Trufelman and Katie Mingle of 99% Invisible report from the streets of Victorian London at the annual Dickens Christmas Fair in Daly City, California, while historian Greg Jenner explains the origins of the festive traditions for which Dickens gets the credit, without even wanting the credit – in fact, his motivation for writing A Christmas Carol was far from a cash-in on Christmas. Find out more about this episode at <a href="http://theallusionist.org/dickens-christmas" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://theallusionist.org/dickens-christmas</a>. The show’s online home is <a href="http://theallusionist.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://theallusionist.org</a>. Stay in touch at <a href="http://twitter.com/allusionistshow" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/allusionistshow</a> and <a href="http://facebook.com/allusionistshow" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://facebook.com/allusionistshow</a>.<a href="http://patreon.com/allusionist" rel="payment">Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.