{"id":614,"date":"2008-12-06T00:01:27","date_gmt":"2008-12-06T00:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/12\/it-isnt-advent-but-its-a-great-pre-christmas-tradition.html"},"modified":"2008-12-06T00:01:27","modified_gmt":"2008-12-06T00:01:27","slug":"it-isnt-advent-but-its-a-great-pre-christmas-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/12\/it-isnt-advent-but-its-a-great-pre-christmas-tradition.html","title":{"rendered":"It Isn\u2019t Advent, But It\u2019s a Great Pre-Christmas Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past few days I’ve been weighing in on Advent, explaining it and recommending it for those who are seeking a closer relationship with God and a deeper experience of Christmas. Today I want to change gears and recommend another pre-Christmas tradition. This one isn’t especially Christian, and it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with Advent. But it’s one of my cherished traditions, one that helps me “get in the mood” for Christmas.
\nFor the past ten years or so, I enrich my December with a reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol<\/em>. This is a delightful, moving book, one that always touches my heart and helps me to be a more given person in the Christmas season. Strictly speaking, I don’t always read A Christmas Carol<\/em> by sitting down and reading it with my eyes. Some years I listen to it on recording. I’ll say a bit more about that in a minute.
\nMost years, I also watch a DVD of some performance of A Christmas Carol<\/em>.\u00a0 It’s fun to see the different performances and interpretations. I enjoy the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart<\/a> and the 1984 version with George C. Scott<\/a>. Throughout my lifetime, I’ve seen at least fifteen stage presentations of A Christmas Carol<\/em>. But, still, I like reading the book (or listening to it). All dramatic performances have to leave out some of the details that enrich Dickens’ writing.
\n<\/a>Now, I have three recommendations for your A Christmas Carol<\/em> enjoyment.\u00a0 First, the basic story by Dickens can be enjoyed by a fairly young child. It’s simple and elegant. But if you read the book, you’ll find lots of language that is hard to decipher. Sometimes you’ll know the words, but not the reference (“Smoking Bishop,” for example). Sometimes the words will be unfamiliar (“griping”). Plus, even if you know what the words mean, your reading would be greatly enriched if you had more knowledge of Victorian England. This can be marvelously found in The Annotated Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol in Prose<\/em><\/a> by Michael Patrick Hearn. This volume contains extensive commentary on the text of A Christmas Carol<\/em>.
\n<\/a>Second, if you want to enjoy A Christmas Carol<\/em> in a different mode, listen to a good reading. You’ll notice things that you won’t get when you read the book with your eyes. There is an outstanding reading of the full book done by Jim Dale. An award-winning reader, Dale is best known for his masterful oral renderings of the Harry Potter books. I highly recommend this recording of Dickens’ masterpiece<\/a>.
\nFinally, if you like a hot Christmas drink and aren’t averse to a bit of wine, I’d recommend that you enjoy your reading of A Christmas Carol<\/em> while sipping a mug of Smoking Bishop. This curiously named drink appears in the Stave V of the book, after Scrooge’s transformation. He says to Bob Cratchit: “We will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob!” You can find several different recipes online. Here’s the one I like<\/a>. (If you don’t drink alcoholic beverages, you could easily adapt this recipe.)
\nSo, I hope you find time in this busy season to enjoy the richness of A Christmas Carol<\/em>. No “Bah humbug!” for you. Only “God bless us, everyone!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past few days I’ve been weighing in on Advent, explaining it and recommending it for those who are seeking a closer relationship with God and a deeper experience of Christmas. Today I want to change gears and recommend another pre-Christmas tradition. This one isn’t especially Christian, and it certainly doesn’t have anything to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nIt Isn\u2019t Advent, But It\u2019s a Great Pre-Christmas Tradition - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/12\/it-isnt-advent-but-its-a-great-pre-christmas-tradition.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It Isn\u2019t Advent, But It\u2019s a Great Pre-Christmas Tradition - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the past few days I’ve been weighing in on Advent, explaining it and recommending it for those who are seeking a closer relationship with God and a deeper experience of Christmas. Today I want to change gears and recommend another pre-Christmas tradition. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}