10. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (1843)
Arguably the greatest Christmas story ever written, Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol was published in 1843 and has since been read the world over and adapted for film and television on a pretty regular basis. The story of Scrooge, Tiny Tim Cratchit, and the three Ghosts of Christmas is a popular one, to be sure - but it also had an important impact on the holiday itself. The effect is clear even without penetrating the veneer of Dickens's prose: "Scrooge", "Bah! Humbug!" and even "Merry Christmas" are phrases popularised following publication of the book, phrases that we would not have today without A Christmas Carol. Many of Dickens's books use language in such ways that phrases either become immortalised or introduce themselves into everyday dialogue and conversation as if they had always existed. Dickens wrote a great many amazing books, but A Christmas Carol has probably had greatest effect on the English language today. But beyond the language, A Christmas Carol is responsible for the very notion of the holiday season that many of us ascribe to in Western culture. Seasonal dishes, family gatherings, and the festive spirit in general were influenced critically by Dickens. The most basic ideas that we attach to Christmas today - those of selfless giving, generosity, goodwill - are a result of a Christmas revival from the Victorian Era, and A Christmas Carol was no doubt at the vanguard.