In 1843 verscheen A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas van Charles Dickens, over de oude wrek Ebenezer Scrooge die gedurende de Kerst verandert in een royale, zachtaardige man.
Een halve eeuw later schreef G. K. Chesterton het gedicht A Christmas Carol, dat bondig de sfeer van Dickens’s kerstvertelling samenvat:
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
Klik hier voor de partituur van een niet echt zoetsappige A Christmas carol.