Lessons to Remember These Holidays from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"

 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the most well-known and well-loved Christmas stories of all time. If you haven't read it, the story is based around a miserly employer called Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghostly apparition of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future. During these visits, Scrooge's attitudes towards others and Christmas change significantly.

So, what lessons from A Christmas Carol - a book written in 1843 - should we keep in mind as we approach the holidays in 2021?

Treat Others With Kindness

Oh, that poor Bob Cratchit! Scrooge is so hateful and mean to his employee, Cratchit, that by berating him verbally and keeping him in the cold and the dark (literally), it is such a stark contrast to his nephew Fred's behaviour. 

Fred is a lovely character, one who reminds us to reach out to those in our lives at Christmas who we may not be on the best terms with. He treats Scrooge with admittedly, more kindness than he deserves.

"I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why cannot we be friends?"

I think that Fred's true nature is the character we should aspire to be most like this Christmas season. Although, Scrooge's amazing transformation by the end of the book is a wonder to behold:

"A Merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another I, Bob Cratchit!"

Scrooge was always in a position to treat Bob - and others - with kindness, although he doesn't until the end. It's a good reminder not to wait too late to let others know how we feel about them, do good deeds for others and generally exhibit kindness in a world that sometimes seems bent on being cold and mean. 

Be Mindful of Your Attitude - especially if you are stressed

"No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty."

This description of Scrooge, reminds us to keep bitterness away during the holiday period. There is nothing worse than a sour attitude, which is easy enough especially if we are stressed, to ruin the holidays. We don't want to be bitter about preparing food, buying presents, going to visit others, or anything else that might make us feel 'put out.' 

"I was only going to say," said Scrooge's nephew, "that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm."

This is the fate that awaits us if we are not careful with our attitudes - missing out on 'making merry' and enjoying time with family and loved ones. 

Money Isn't Everything 

When Scrooge's nephew Fred first appears in the story the following exchange occurs:

"What's Christmas-time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and 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?"

...

"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!"

These two differing opinions show us the true meaning of Christmas. As Fred claims it is "a good time, a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time." Money isn't necessary to meet Fred's criteria, and it isn't necessary in our modern world. We can buy presents, if that is our tradition, but it shouldn't be a financial burden nor one that takes away the goodness and the charity from the season. Which leads to our next lesson...

Give Back to The Community

The Christmas season is a wonderful time to give back to your community, to support charities that support the vulnerable and less fortunate in our society. There are so many charities to choose from, that you can pick one that is close to your heart, or choose a different one each year to support. You can support them financially, with your time, with donations of food or other non-perishables. Even with COVID restrictions still in place in some areas, there are many ways that you can support your community. 

"At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."

This is what we should also keep in mind during the holiday season. It can be a very hard time for many people, and if we can help, then we should. 

I must confess, I absolutely love this classic book by Charles Dickens. I read it last Christmas and I look forward to reading it again this Christmas, I think it will become a yearly tradition for me. It doesn't go out of style and there is so much in it that is pertinent to our attitudes and behaviours today, more than what I have shared with you today. If you haven't read A Christmas Carol yet then perhaps this is the year to check it out from the library or read it for free online at Project Gutenberg. And if you do read it, be sure to check back in here and let me know what you think about it. 

Kirsty x