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This was too good to pass up. The investigation to what the cause of Tiny Tim’s disease (remember the crutch, smallish figure, fatality of it all) due to Scrooge’s miserliness has apparently been the subject of speculation. In the following article they talk about how it could have been kidney disease or rickets. What Was Ailing Tiny Tim?
Incidentally I just watched A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart on Saturday night and thought it was pretty faithful to the book, which is a good read in itself. Dickens seems to have been instrumental in promoting the popularity of Christmas, at least in certain locations. Read this from this site:
By the early part of the nineteenth century Christmas had almost died out. The Times newspaper, for example, did not once mention Christmas between 1790 and 1835. Charles Dickens with his story A Christmas Carol did more than anyone to change all that. His tale of Scrooge, the Cratchit’s, and Tiny Tim was a smash hit from the start. He wrote the story in just two months, beginning in October 1843 and finishing at the end of November. The book was published on 17 December 1843 and immediately sold out.
So it sounds like Dickens’ story, which has since been transformed into such ageless retellings like Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol, and – don’t forget – The Muppet Christmas Carol, has done more for the promotion of the Christmas holiday that we might initially give him credit for.
2 things: I thought it was pretty much slam-dunk that it was rickets and I did not know that about the earlier partof the 19th century. What a shame.
Hers's a link to a section of a Wiki article about this… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#From_the_Reformation_into_the_1800s
That's an interesting read. I love learning about the history of holidays, especially Christmas. I'll be watching a documentary on it within the next week or so. Interesting to read this from that Wikipedia article (the more things change, the more they stay the same):In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.Oh well. Merry Christmas, all!
For the record, two proposed diseases that might be blamed for Tiny Tim's disease are renal tubular acidosis (kidney disease) or rickets. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22359312/ns/health-health_care/t/what-was-ailing-tiny-tim/
I saw a program (I think on the History Channel) about the re-birth of Christmas in America. As mentioned above, in Colonial times it had fallen out of favor. This was in part due to the pagan origins, but mostly because its associated vandalism. It was the custom for people, called rowdies (as I recall) to go from house to house demanding food and drink. They would break windows, etc. of those who failed to feed them. Even if provided food and drink they would often still destroy property, partly on purpose and partly, in their often drunken state, with their boisterous partying.In the United States much of the re-birth of Christmas goes to Clement Clarke Moore, who in 1823 wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." His poem was based upon classical legends, mostly notably that of the four centaury Greek Bishop canonized as Saint Nicholas. He was famed for gifts to the poor.Our conception of Santa Claus is also heavily influenced by Thomas Nast the well known illustrator and political cartoonist. (As well as devising the image of Santa Clause, Nast developed the image that today is associated with Uncle Sam as well as the donkey for the Democratic party and elephant for the Republican party.) For example, the idea of Santa Claus checking his list to see who has been naught and nice comes from one Nast’s illustrations. (He produces one every year over a considerable period of time.)The Christmas tree is an old German custom. It became popular in Great Britain during the Victorian era when Price Albert set one up in Buckingham Palace. In time the custom came to America.
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