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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 69. How the Dickens Stole Christmas

December 8, 2017 The Allusionist
A69 Dickens Xmas logo.jpg

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.

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In call to action, episodes Tags literature, literary, Charles Dickens, books, novels, fiction, novellas, poverty, Victorians, Queen Victoria, history, English history, Britain, British, San Francisco, Daly City, California, Renaissance Fair, Dickens Fair, Greg Jenner, Avery Trufelman, Katie Mingle, London, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, social justice, children, child poverty, festive, customs, traditions, Christmas
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The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.