A Christmas Reading

Hearing A Christmas Carol read again brought back memories of high school

So I've put up the Christmas tree, wrapped all the presents and have put the turkey in the brine, but have now done another festive thing -- attended a Christmas reading.

Specifically, it was a reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

I read the story back in high school, but haven't listened to it in one go. A reading was held in a neighbourhood church this evening so I decided to check it out. Also, two of the readers are ex-colleagues of mine I haven't seen in years so it was a nice way to catch up.

Chains were dragged on the floor for extra sound effects

Despite the CAD$25 (HK$144) ticket -- with all proceeds going to a local children's charity -- the church was almost full and I arrived 15 minutes early. I managed to snag a seat near the back and waited for the event to begin that also included some songs.

The rector welcomed everyone and invited everyone to sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing before the reading of A Christmas Carol began. It was split up among five readers, and to make it even more fun there were sound effects too.

There were door knocks and door slams, bells ringing, dramatic laughing, and for the appearance of Jacob Marley's ghost, the rattling of chains dragging on the floor could be heard.

While it was fun listening to the story being told, our posteriors were uncomfortable sitting on the hard wooden pews! Nevertheless in the end the reading was about an hour and a half long and was run was efficiently as possible.

The story has humour that's still relevant today

I didn't remember the sly comments Dickens made in his story, that still hold up very well today. I forgot there were bits of humour in it, only remembering Scrooge's horror of seeing Marley's ghost and how terrified he was of seeing his own dead body.

Listening to A Christmas Carol is a nice reminder for us to think about how we want to be remembered -- that will determine how we treat others.