Essays Contents
A Christmas Carol
December 23, 2023
Watching the Charles Dickens' classic movie "A Christmas Carol"
or rather... "Scrooge"... this good quality version with George C. Scott.
A Christmas Carol George C Scott 1984
and... for a real treat...
"A Christmas Carol" - audiobook
Classic Audiobooks with Elliot - YT Channel
maybe someday I'll have all the key lines memorized... like...
"Are there no poorhouses...?"
"Yes, sir, but many can't go there... many would rather die."
"Then... let them die... and decrease the surplus population."
or...
"God bless them... every... one."
or... the pawnbroker laughing and saying,
"Every person has a right to take care of himself... that's my motto."
How did Dickens choose the name for the character...
Ebenezer Scrooge.
The word scrooge paints a picture of something being squeezed out...
or... made something or someone move away from it... away from him...
such as... "He scrooged me off of the bench."... or... took too much space.
Maybe Ebenezer is a family name... ya know... of all the notable names a
man would want to name his son... why the heck Ebenezer...?
Did someone force "Ebby's" father to name him that...?
Hmmm... perhaps to settle a debt of his great-grandfather with a duke or a king Scrooge's great-grandfather was forever after... to name all first-born sons "Ebenezer"...
and all his generations into perpetuity... must do the same.
And the court would follow through time... that this was done.
If... in three generations... an heir of his was named Jonathan
the court would send someone to enforce the law...
"It must be Ebenezer...!!"
Maybe Dickens thought the name described a face... all squelched up.
Marley returned as a ghost on the anniversary of his death...
covered in chains... wailing sorrows... his life had been nothing to anyone.
All he ever did... was work... because of Scrooge.
Can we assume for a moment...
that Scrooge drove Marley to an early death...?
or made him sick because of the cold, damp working conditions...?
or pushed him to his limits... and then beyond his limits...
Scrooge knowing how tight to squeeze... without breaking...
no concern for causes or consequences... or human struggles.
It's like... there is a people-based form of capitalism...
that understands that providing goods and services
makes each business part of the wider community.
Someone notices that the town needs a plumbing shop...
opens a plumbing shop as a benefit to the total community.
And then... there is the money-based form of capitalism.
It... squeezes... like a tax man gauges his desire to get more...
its only concern... how much money he can get...
and not... "how can I participate in my community..."
At Christmas time... in the depth of winter...
we are given the wonderful holiday of giving...
a holiday of Peace... and Joy... and Love...
all embodied in a man named Jesus... born... on this day.
Watching these Christmas movies at Christmas time
is a tradition of sorts with me... my own personal tradition.
We all have our own favorite ways of remembering the holiday.
Family traditions can connect us to our ancestors...
and would hopefully someday connect us to our grandchildren.
They would think of us... who celebrated just like they are doing...
who cooked the same foods... or did the same routines.
And... we would be saying to them... "Remember me...?"
I've collected a few ideas for some fine Christmas traditions.
1. ornaments on the tree should have special meanings...
a memory of a place you went...
or skills learned during that year...
or goals reached... or honors won.
Memories.
and...
2. There would be a night for everyone to gather and sit by the tree
to decorate the tree with an ornament they brought... a memory...
something they want to always remember... and...
each person would stand and tell the story about the memory.
"I learned to play the violin."
and then make a toast to a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
and...
3. Perhaps at the end of the year...
we should all remember our mistakes or conflicts with others...
and make peace with it... and with them...
make sure it is fixed... make sure that all is well...
send a card... give a gift... apologize...
offer an opportunity for the other person... to apologize...
and with the New Year... try to begin again...
allow everybody... to... begin again...
allow everybody the chance to change... without comment.
Start the new year fresh...
and hope that you don't have to retrieve
that basket of forgiveness you'd just left in the past.
"what was I thinking...!"
Maybe... make a wish... on Christmas.
Have a wishing tree... in a special park...
maybe some Christmas fairy will answer it.
and... for a real treat...
"A Christmas Carol" - audiobook
Classic Audiobooks with Elliot - YT Channel
"Yes, sir, but many can't go there... many would rather die."
"Then... let them die... and decrease the surplus population."
or...
"God bless them... every... one."
or... the pawnbroker laughing and saying,
"Every person has a right to take care of himself... that's my motto."
a memory of a place you went...
or skills learned during that year...
or goals reached... or honors won.
Memories.
and...
2. There would be a night for everyone to gather and sit by the tree
to decorate the tree with an ornament they brought... a memory...
something they want to always remember... and...
each person would stand and tell the story about the memory.
"I learned to play the violin."
and then make a toast to a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
and...
3. Perhaps at the end of the year...
we should all remember our mistakes or conflicts with others...
and make peace with it... and with them...
make sure it is fixed... make sure that all is well...
send a card... give a gift... apologize...
offer an opportunity for the other person... to apologize...
and with the New Year... try to begin again...
allow everybody... to... begin again...
allow everybody the chance to change... without comment.
Start the new year fresh...
and hope that you don't have to retrieve
that basket of forgiveness you'd just left in the past.
"what was I thinking...!"
Maybe... make a wish... on Christmas.
Have a wishing tree... in a special park...
maybe some Christmas fairy will answer it.