I'm rediscovering an old Christmas Story.
Ebenezer Scrooge doesn't usually bring up visions of someone who knew how to keep Christmas well. We often think of him as being someone who hated Christmas so much that he woudl have packaged it up and mailed it to Mars if he could. Two things this year have gotten me thinking about the change that occurs in Scrooge.
First, the church I attend has cast me in a script (as Bob) where Bob tells about the transformation Scrooge undergoes - but from Bob's perspective. The last paragraph begins with "For years after his death, people still talked about how he exuded the spirit of Christmas". This line really caught my imagination.
Second, I have chosen this story as my Christmas Concert theme with my elementary students. I've been talking to them about the change that Scrooge undergoes - he wants to be a better person, and that means treating others better than he has. It's opened up some conversations with students and parents.
I took out a bunch of versions of the story for display in the school - I think I'm going to read one of them before the weekend is out. The final words about Scrooge keep ringing in my head - the ones about how well he kept Christmas.
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Hi Mr. Budlong,
These words are especially poignant for me. We were just discussing this earlier this week in my literature class. It's a beautiful story that I will be revisiting over the holidays.
The performance was last week (Dec 3), and I had decided that Bob would not be calm as he talked about Ebenezer in the past. One of the lines in the book talks about how Scrooge helps the Cratchit family financially, and becomes a "second father" to Tim.
Bob would find it hard to talk about Ebenezer, I felt - so I had him get a bit emotional at the end during the following words:
"For years after his death, people still talked about how he exuded the spirit of Christmas. May that be said of us, of all of us. May we all value the Spirit of Christmas, and our families, to the degree of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge."
I just couldn't see Bob saying that part with a smile on his face. The reaction at the services? Both services - absolute silence at the end. i think it made an impression.
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