A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 1843 Chapman & Hall

    Ebeneezer Scrooge is the epitome of a person without any Christmas Spirit. He begins his story as a lonely old man who refuses any Christmas extras to his employees. One night he is visited by a series of spirits--Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future--who encourage Scrooge to look beyond the physical things that are put together to make up the Christmas Season.
     The first spirit, Christmas Past, takes Scrooge into his own past to view the Christmases that shaped his views of the holiday. He sees that Christmas and the holiday season wasn't always something that took his workers away from making a profit, he once enjoyed the season with a child's joy.
     Christmas Present, the second spirit, takes Scrooge around to his secretary's home where he sees the young man's son, Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim is suffering from illness and might die if he doesn't get the care his family cannot afford. Scrooge begins to see how his dislike of the Christmas holiday and season are affecting the people around him, despite their innocent joy and faith in the season.
     The third ghost brings a bleak picture of Scrooge's future Christmases. The silent figure takes Scrooge through time to his future, to his tombstone. When he sees the stone, bare and without any appearance of mourners, Scrooge begins to see things differently.
     On Christmas Morning, after a night of travel, Scrooge thinks it was all just a dream, but has changed his take on the season. Eager to change his future, he rushes to his secretary's home to celebrate Christmas with his family. A Christmas Carol is the ultimate tale of Christmas Spirit, and the joy of the intangible elements of the season appropriate for children of all ages.