``A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!'' cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.
``Bah!'' said Scrooge, ``Humbug!''
He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.
``Christmas a humbug, uncle!'' said Scrooge's nephew. ``You don't mean that, I am sure.''
``I do,'' said Scrooge. ``Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? what reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.''
``Come, then,'' returned the nephew gaily. ``What right have you to be dismal? what reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough.''
Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, ``Bah!'' again; and followed it up with ``Humbug.''
``Don't be cross, uncle,'' said the nephew.
``What else can I be,'' returned the uncle, ``when I live in such a world of fools as this Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas. What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will,'' said Scrooge indignantly, ``every idiot who goes about with ``Merry Christmas'' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!''
``Uncle!'' pleaded the nephew.
``Nephew!'' returned the uncle, sternly, ``keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.''
``Keep it!'' repeated Scrooge's nephew. ``But you don't keep it.''
``Let me leave it alone, then,'' said Scrooge. ``Much good may it do you! Much good it has ever done you!''
``There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,'' returned the nephew: ``Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!''
And so begins one of the best loved and most wonderful Christmas story ever told. A very early Christmas memory of mine is watching the Mickey's Christmas Carol, an animated version of the classic starring Mickey as Bob Cratchitt, Goofy as Marley and Jimminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas past. Today, my favorite Christmas movie is the Muppet's Christmas carol starring Gonzo as the Narrator, Kermit, Piggy and Robin as the Cratchitt family and the wonderful Michael Caine as Scrooge. In addition to staying true to the story, going so far even as to use Dickens' original prose in some scenes, there are wonderful musical pieces and great Muppet comedy. These musical pieces are one of my favorite parts of the Muppet version in that they bring to life the secular values of generosity, cheerfulness and good will towards men that Dickens was really aiming for with his story. Where ever you find love, it feels like Christmas.
Like my other favorite Christmas movies (It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas), Dickens' story taps into the secular beauty of the holiday season. Dickens wrote his story in a time when the echos of the Puritan restrictions of the Cromwell era were still the main influence on how the English celebrated Christmas. The festive and joyous celebrations shown in A Christmas Carol reflect older, more pagan customs and were very attractive to the Victorian era English people so desperately looking for a way to cement their national identity and move into the modern era. Prince Albert had just introduced the Christmas Tree and Christmas cards were gaining popularity - our modern Christmas was invented by the Victorians and Dickens' story was a huge influence on that process. He actually coined the phrase Merry Christmas! At it's core, A Christmas Carol is a morality story about being good to each other. I encourage you to re-read or re-watch a version of it this holiday season. Here it is in full text online, but your library will have copies of it as well. What are your favorite versions of this classic story? What inspires you to be good to other people in this season?
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.
He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!
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