A Christmas Carol Sings to Me because I Long to Decode its Secret. Why does this story grasp my heart and refuse to let go, no matter how many times I experience it? How has it continued to hold that same power for so long over a vast audience? What did Charles Dickens do that keeps us returning again and again? Let me venture some guesses.
A Christmas Carol Sings because of Ebenezer Scrooge. Charles Dickens created a character we are unable to resist. Ebenezer commands us to revisit the dark chill of his “money-changing hole” with astonishing regularity. We simply cannot get enough of him, or the twisting and twisted trail he leads us along.
A Christmas Carol Sings because it is a Ghost Story. Things that go bump in the night abound. Literally, as Jacob Marley’s chain of miser’s sins clanks toward Scrooge’s cold, barren rooms. On film, I personally favor the Alastair Sim version. The gloomy black and white images and ominous soundtrack most accurately evoke the mood of the book for me, while Ebenezer’s angry scowl draws us all into dread and melancholy.
A Christmas Carol Sings because there is some Ebenezer in most of us. Not because we hoard and hover over our worldly goods, or grumble, “Humbug this, humbug that,” for all to hear. But because, as surely as Scrooge carries his poisonous, punishing temper everywhere, he carries wounds as well, and so do we.
A Christmas Carol Sings because those Wounds are to our Hearts. As was true for Scrooge, hurts are inflicted on us in our tenderest places, usually when we’re very young. Hot cinders of malice, neglect, unkindness, or worse are dropped, one by one, singing a hollow that begs to be filled by love, which is in turn denied or simply unavailable.
A Christmas Carol Sings because we struggle mightily with our own ghosts. Some of you may not be haunted in this way nor have suffered wounds to the heart. If this is true, I rejoice for you. Still, I suspect that, more often than not, we bear up bravely beneath our injuries and scar them over as best we can.
A Christmas Carol Sings because Ebenezer Offers Us Choices. He exemplifies the capacity within us to live afflicted, or to heal. Before the spirits visit him, he vividly embodies the former choice and its accompanying bitterness. Afterward, he shows us another way to go, but action will be required, as in all Redemption stories. This is one of those for sure, and the required action is love in its working verb form.
A Christmas Carol Sings because it Reminds us of a Crucial Truth. One prescription for healing our wounds is to love, deeply and consistently as possible, given our flawed human natures. if we listen, we may hear the still, small voices within us echo the goodness of that intention.And, like A Christmas Carol, those voices sing.
Meanwhile… Charles Dickens, Ebenezer, Tiny Tim, and I wish each of you a beloved and loving New Year. 
Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com
Alice Orr’s Christmas story A Vacancy at the Inn – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 3 – is available on Amazon HERE. Enjoy!
A Time of Fear & Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5 – is available HERE. Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “The best one yet!” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.”
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The hero’s journey Christmas style. I have never read the book, but loved Patrick Stewart’s Hallmark Films performance of it in film. If you haven’t seen it, do try to find it. The best version ever.
Hi Kayelle. We’ll have to agree to disagree re: Patrick Stewart vs. Alistair Sim but we can handle that. Have you heard about the new version about to surface? Looks creepy as can be to me. And, yes, you are right as usual to note that this is the hero’s journey Christmas style. A redemptive quest through this world and some paranormal ones. He packed it all in here. So, when is Pietas going to have some kind of ritual/holiday/spiritual quest befuddling challenge to deal with? As if you don’t have enough on your plate already.
Love and miss you, Alice
Love and miss you too LG. Any chance you will be at the LSFW Conference in April? I know I’ve been a no-show for a couple of years but I’d like to turn that around this time. Come on. Motivate me. Learning you’ll be there would do exactly that.