Scrooge

Charles Dickens - "A Christmas Carol"
By Jon Griffin

With it's universal message of treating friends, employees, and family with respect and kindness, "A Christmas Carol" is one of the most well known holiday stories of all time. The entertaining story masterfully weaves the message of keeping the Christmas spirit alive all year with a readily identifiable lead character. That there are hundreds of movie and stage adaptations of this story only serve to bolster the reputation of the story as a holiday classic.

History

Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in 1843 and it soon became the most popular book of that holiday season. Dickens sold 6000 copies of the book by Christmas, and the book was such a success that eight adaptations for the stage were being created within two months of publication. To this day, the story is one of the most widely known and popular stories about the Christmas season. There are more than 200 film versions and a countless number of stage productions. You would be hard pressed to find anyone not familiar with this Dickens classic in some form or the other.

Ebeneezer Scrooge is the main character in "A Christmas Carol". Scrooge was an old man with more money than he could possibly use, but he was a lonely miser who refused to share or spend any of his vast fortune. Scrooge gets visited by three spirits, Christmas past, present, and future, and after these visits he has a revelation. Scrooge comes to realize that spending money on charity and generosity leads to a much more fulfilling life than simply hoarding all his money. He learns that the true spirit of Christmas is following these principals, and by following them he can keep the Christmas spirit alive all year.

This story was written at a time when working conditions were unfair for the lower social classes, and impoverished children were a common sight. Dickens was always an advocate for the poor, and often made social and moral statements in his writing. "A Christmas Carol" is no exception, weaving a beautifully written and engrossing tale with a strong moral and social justice theme. The lessons of the story are as valid today as they were when the book was written in 1843.

There are many movie versions of this classic story, and this year is a great year to start or continue a family tradition of reading or watching this classic story, and don't forget to read it as well. The younger children will like the Disney or Muppet's versions, while the whole family can watch the classic movie starring George C. Scott. If you are in a humorous mood, then Scrooged starring Bill Murray, or A Christmas Carol (2009) with Jim Carrey might suit your mood. In any event this Charles Dickens story is a classic story guaranteed to entertain the whole family for many years to come.

Jon Griffin writes about a variety of subjects and teaches at UNLV.

If you would like to learn more about Christmas traditions, please stop by http://traditionsofchristmas.net/ and enjoy our ever growing article collection.

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