How does Dickens recreate the Christmas Spirit in A Christmas Carol?

How does Dickens recreate the Christmas Spirit in A Christmas Carol?
The self published novella 'A Christmas Carol' was written by Engligh author Charles Dickens in 1843. It sold all 6,000 copies within 9 days of hitting the stands and was met with instant success and critical acclaim. It tells the story of bitter old miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his reluctant jouney to find the Christmas Spirit guided by supernatural visitors Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come. The effect the Charles Dickens writings had on this rapidly waneing Christian Festival was so far reaching and well received that many refered to him as 'The Man who Invented Chrristmas'. While Dickens didn’t technically come up with Christmas, he couched its spirit in a philosophy and centered it on an image that compelled people to see it and feel it as he did. “There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas,” writes Dickens, when “petty jealousies and discords are forgotten.”
Dickens purposefully describes the setting in the book with adjectives that could be applied to the reality of Victorian England at the time. The industrial revolution was in full swing and the over populated conditions were forcing people to sleep on the streets and work 12 hour days to make ends meet. In the first stave, Dickens introduces us to the character Ebenezer Scrooge who embodies all of these reasons for the failings of Christmas.The narrator desribes him as 'hard and sharp as flint' -harsh words that sound awfully similar to the way Dickens describes the conditions of the English Streets- 'cold, bleak and biting'. Dickens clearly outlines using this language that is is aware of the problems and conditions of their struggling society. He then goes on to point out that good fortune can come in the form of love and family and embodies this ideal in his model lower-middle class family, the Cratchits. "They were not a handsome family...But they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contended wth time."
Dickens influences on the Christmas holiday was not only limited to his generation. Many of the activities and customs associated with Christmas today were either first mentioned or completely forged in 'A Christmas Carol'. For example, the 'jolly giant, glorious to see' used to describe The Ghost of Christmas Present in Stave 3 is the first ever mention of the German derived 'Santa Klaus' in English history. This reference was chosen by Dickens for the kindness and giving spirit of the Saint. This one small sentance was the reason the leap was made for an American version of Father Christmas, or as he is more commonly known as today, Santa Clause. There are many other examples, such as Christams pudding 'like a speckled cannon ball, so hard and firm', playing board games on Christmas eve 'Snap Dragon and Blind Mans Bluff' and even the concept of a 'White Christmas' were all introduced into the mix in the writing of 'A Christmas Carol.' These specific, seemingy simple moments were written by Dickens to represent warmth and comfort and to give people a reason to get together and participate. They all come together to paint a specific picture of the Chrisrms Spirit that Charles Dickens wanted to portray.
However, Dickens is careful to warn us that the Christmas Spirit should apply beyond December 25th. He began writing 'A Christmas Carol' soon after arriving home from a visit to a Athenaeum, an institute devoted to caring for the poor. His capacity for empahty is most likely related to the time he spent working at a blackening factory for several years as a teen. The poor conditions and low wages allowed him an in with the poorer population that other influences lacked. The characters 'Ignorance' and 'Want', are described as 2 sickly children born of 'man'. Dickens uses these particular traits for names as a warning to Srooge and readers alike. He is beescheeching readers to aknowledge these things, but not to care for them. He warns that if you are ignorant to life and spend your time wanting more it will only give you a life lacking. Dickens uses this fear of an unfulfilled life and associates it with dark words like 'Want and 'Ignorance', putting distancebetween these things and the Christmas Spirit he is trying to recreate.
Christmas was barely celebrated at the start of the 1800s and December 25 was just a normal working day. Chareles Dickens came along with an idea that turned a rapidly fading Christian Festival into the holiday that he was passionate about. He added layers of tradition and good mirth and sold it to the strugglng masses as something to look forward to. Dickens encouraged a 'Christmas Spirit' perspective all year round and created something that has had a profound impact on families for over 150 years. 'We will never know what Christmas would be like without Charles Dickens, but it would never have been quite the same as we enjoy today without him.”- Professor Standiford, Author of 'The Man who Invented Christmas.'

The book describes the streets as abundant and filled with joy. Dickens shows these poor families and neighbours celebrating in streets filled with joy and laughter despite their money or social situations.
Dickens uses the book to paint a picture of what the Christmas Spirit is supposed to look like. He incorporates words like joy, laugher and family- all words that meet the ideal of what Christmas is supposed to be. But with the industrial revolution in full swing in the 1840’s, people were sending their exhausted children out to work 12 hour days so that they can afford to eat that week. The rich were profiting from offering low wage jobs and a lack of work place safety requirements for their workers.
Spending much needed currency celebrating the sacrifice of a saviour who appeared to have deserted then to starve on the streets didn’t appeal to most people.