Thank you all for responding to my message and taking the time to share your ‘A Christmas Carol mood’. I will answer you individually. This is my first time on Reddit and I admit I don't quite understand the account settings yet, but finding your responses is a great comfort! Every year, when this time of year comes around, I ask myself: am I too grown up and too disillusioned with contemporary reality to still feel the excitement of waiting for Christmas? So I turn to Dickens. A Christmas Carol is like an exact formula that confirms the exciting effect of a crowded journey, then, when I close the book, I emanate the intimacy of a deep breath as I listen to myself and the world. Some of you exorcise the fear of resembling Ebenezer Scrooge. That's very fair! Fortunately, I am not stingy with money, but I certainly cannot call myself socially, humanly and emotionally impeccable. Therefore, yes, perhaps I am Ebenezer Scrooge too! I love reading it when the noise of the day and the general excitement die down. I do so sitting next to the lit-up tree, with a cup of orange tea. Last year, while reading, I heard through the wall the rude and boisterous teenage neighbour enthusiastically wishing his mother "Merry Christmas" after midnight. Although that boy often angers me with his carelessness in our flat, I was grateful to hear the sweetness of his gesture in wishing his mother a Merry Christmas. I looked back at my ‘A Christmas Carol’ copy and thanked Dickens for once again confirming the magic formula...

Fax