Thoughtful Thursday: Christmas Special

This weeks thought is from an author, who despite the fact that I've never read a single one of his books (don't judge), I have a huge amount of respect for. That might sound a little bit weird, but even though I'm not a fan of his work, I am still able to see that he was the voice of his era, and he contributed more to the world than just a bunch of words on a few pages of a book. No, this man defined Christmas as most of us know it. That man is of course: Charles Dickens.


So, with Christmas only a couple of days away *excited dance*, here are some wise words from the Lord Mayor (not literally) of Christmas, himself:

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

For me, Christmas is the one day of the year when "most" members of the family make a bigger effort to come together and spend time with each other. It's kind of sad, in a way, that we all live so far apart now, and that the most common meetings are Christenings, Weddings and Funerals, so for me Christmas is really important.
What does Christmas mean to you?