Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1834. Dickens was one of the first to show his readers a new way of celebrating the old Yule holiday in modern ways. He adapted the 12-day Yule feast to a one-day party any family could hold in their own home instead of gathering together an entire village, as was the tradition. Dickens introduced the "nuclear family" of Fred, the Cratchits, and Scrooge into a rewarding Christmas environment. A Christmas Carol is filled with magic, mystery, and song. The joyous carol had come home.