Daily Recco, December 21: A Christmas Carol for Christmas week

If there is anything that is as Christmassy as Christmas itself, it is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. And with bells jingling this weekend, what could be a better time than this to pick up this old classic?

Dickens's novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843, has a strong moral message of empathy and sharing. No wonder then that it has become one of his best-known classics. The story is around the themes of the treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character.

The cloth cover of the first edition A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with illustrations by John Leech, that was published in 1843. The copy was sold for USD 33,460 on June 3, 2008. (Photo and source: Wikimedia Commons)

The plot opens with Scrooge, an old and rich miser, who operates his business from a warehouse. Dickens describes him as "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint... secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster."

When Scrooge's nephew Fred invites him for Christmas dinner, he refuses and not very politely and grudgingly allows his underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, a paid holiday. That too, only because he has to conform with the social convention. He also refuses men who come seeking donation for food and heating for the poor.

That night he is visited by four spirits: ghosts of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas of the past, present and future. Marley, much like Scrooge himself, was a greedy miser as long as he lived, and regrets it now, bound by chains that tie him to money boxes and chests with a doomed half-existence on earth. While we shall not give you spoilers on what the Christmas spirits do or say, know that Scrooge turned a fresh leaf before it was too late.

A scene from the Disney’s 3D animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol. The character of Scrooge was played by Jim Carrey and Fred (top L) was played by Colin Firth. (Photo: Reuters)

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol at a time when the British were re-evaluating past Christmas traditions like carols and exploring newer customs like Christmas trees. The novella, therefore, has elements that represent the changing Britain of those times. In fact, the book became popular after the Christmas of 1852, when Dickens started public readings of it. The readings were well attended by both, the educated white-collars and the working-class audiences. So popular were these readings, that it is said that Dickens read out passages from the novella on each public gathering since, and they became a major part of his later career.

The play adaptations of the novella led to the immense popularity of Scrooge's character and his catchphrases became part of everyday conversations.

So, would it even be Christmas if someone or the other didn't say, "Bah! Humbug!" and ended it with a "Merry Christmas, everyone!" Read the book to know what we mean.

Also Read: Ten carols you must play this Christmas