BoogieTot: Post 115: A Christmas Carol

"It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour."
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, English writer and social critic

As a child, I'd never thought much on Ebenezer Scrooge bah-humbugging everything about Christmas. I saw him simply as a mean, greedy old man who hated Christmas that could possibly use a hug. It wasn't until I was older that I learned to appreciate his character and the lessons he learns while on his journey with the three Ghosts of Christmas.

I feel that more people could benefit from the lessons that Ebenezer Scrooge learned. That the spirit of Christmas is not about expecting gifts from others or trying to embarrass parents for giving their children expensive gifts from Santa when others aren't able to afford it for their own. I understand how a child might feel, not receiving some overpriced game console from Santa, but being angry at the parents who can afford those things only makes yourself look bad.

Christmas should be about treating everyone with compassion, kindness and generosity, not shaming others. My hope for the world is that one day people will choose to help others without a second thought. That people won't try to take advantage of that generosity. That the world will become the lessons that Ebenezer Scrooge learned in Charles Dickens' wonderful story.