A visit to a charity school (where poor children went) and a visit to tin mines showed Charles Dickens the horrible conditions these poor children had to work in.
First, he thought about writing an essay or a pamphlet to demonstrate these conditions.
In the end he wrote A Christmas Carol.
People thought it dumb for him to write about a holiday that wasn't even popular at that time.
But Charles Dickens helped make it popular and turn it into the holiday we know now. A time where you give to others.