“A Christmas Carol” – Hope for All Times

Long before Tim Burton and Danny Elfman gave the world “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” another storyteller was hard at work on an equally spooky and festive Christmas tale. You know and love him (even if you think he could have benefited from more aggressive editing)—it’s Charles Dickens! Which means we could only be talking about “A Christmas Carol.”

If you haven’t read the story or watched one of the many movie adaptations (the pinnacle of which is the pièce de résistance that is “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year), I’ll give you the one-sentence summary: On Christmas Eve, a joyless and merciless miser is scared into being a better person after being haunted by his ex-business partner and three additional ghosts, each examining the past, present, and future Christmases, respectively, in his life. That’s the basic plot, but the story is so much more than that.

If you’ll allow an English major to fangirl out a bit, Dickens was a genius and “A Christmas Carol” is a masterpiece. I mean, its first sentence is “Marley was dead, to begin with.” I could discuss the brilliance and boldness of this introduction for hours (and have… I am a truly terrible dinner party guest), but I digress. In its relatively few pages, this punchy novella covers a lot—including themes of wealth disparity, social injustice, family, romance, warmth, charity, and redemption—all set against a Christmassy background. It is undeniably a classic, yet, because of its social commentary, always feels timely.

There’s nothing new or, frankly, particularly inspiring about the idea that we need change. As long as humans have been self-aware, we’ve been trying (and often failing) to make improvements. But the magic of “A Christmas Carol” is that Scrooge’s wake-up call sticks, he is confronted with information and (eventually) listens. He comes to terms with the error of his ways and enacts meaningful change that makes his life and everyone else’s lives better. This story is beloved because it is about the power of hope.

The ubiquity of “A Christmas Carol” is proof that its message of hope resonates with many. If we’re honest, some days we all identify a little with first-act Scrooge, yet we all have a dream to be our best selves. “A Christmas Carol” promises us that things can be better—that we can be better—if we take the time to listen and look inward.

There is a reason why we don’t have “A Muppet Bleak House” or “Disney Presents: Great Expectations.” These are also works of genius, but “A Christmas Carol” reminds us that you can make changes right now. You can turn on a dime.  Your fate is not fixed. You can still reckon with your past and be the person you want to be for the rest of your life. It is a Christmas story, yes, but more importantly, it is a human story and a reminder that it’s never too late to live an earnest life of joy, love, and compassion.

From our team here at EduCred Services, we wish you and yours all the joy, hope, and benevolent hauntings of the season!

“A Christmas Carol,” and all works by Charles Dickens are in the public domain, and can be downloaded/read in their entirety for free.  Also, we highly recommend both “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” and the most recent “A Christmas Carol” adaptation—"Spirited.”

“I am here—the shadows of the things that would have been, may be dispelled. They will be. I know they will!”
–Ebenezer Scrooge (“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens)