June 8: Happy End, Precepts, Christmas Carols

Much they saw, and far they went, and many homes they visited, but always with a happy end.  The Spirit stood beside sick-beds, and they were cheerful; on foreign lands, and they were close at home; by struggling men, and they were patient in their greater hope; by poverty, and it was rich.  In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in misery's every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts.

Scrooge learns much from the Ghost of Christmas Present.  Most of all, however, he learns about the power of love and charity to make even the most desperate situation calm and peaceful.  That's the biggest precept Scrooge learns from this phantom.  Scrooge's own happy end will come when he embraces everything that a Charles Dickens' Christmas embodies:  cheer, home, patience, hope, and wealth of spirit.

This morning, as I was doing my weekly cleaning duties in the office where I work (vacuuming, dusting, emptying garbage cans, basically being Cinderella), I used my iPod to keep myself entertained.  I scrolled through the music, and I settled on a collection of Christmas carols.  Don't ask why.  Usually, I listen to '80s rock, maybe Doris Day or Roger Miller if I'm in the mood.  Today, it was Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops playing holiday standards.

And I have to say, the music just calmed me right down.  It filled my mind with good recollections of Christmases with snow and family and egg nog.  (I looooove egg nog.)  I found myself filled with a sense of peace I haven't felt in a long time.  Even though my whole day of working and shopping and cleaning and chauffeuring stretched out before me, I didn't care.  I simply felt grateful for the music and memories.

I think that's what the Spirit of Christmas Present shows Scrooge.  The power to make even tiresome tasks, like dusting or vacuuming, light and fun.  I was actually humming and singing this morning, which I never do at work.  And I was humming and singing Christmas carols!  If anybody had come into the office and heard me, I probably would have been sent home for some sort of mental health day.  But I felt great.  Still do.

That is the precept I learned today, and I think that's what it means to keep Christmas in your heart all year long.  It doesn't mean leaving your Christmas tree up and decorated until July, although I have been known to do that.  No, it means sustaining the sense of happiness and peace from December 25 to December 25.  Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days of Christmas carol mojo.

Saint Marty's going to do his part today, thanks to Arthur Fiedler and company.

Thanks for the memories, Artie!

February 1: Ghost's Blessing, Helping the Poor, Precepts

Much they saw, and far they went, and many homes they visited, but always with a happy end.  The Spirit stood beside sick-beds, and they were cheerful; on foreign lands, and they were close at home; by struggling men, and they were patient in their greater hope; by poverty, and it was rich.  In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in misery's every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts.

Dickens at the shoeblacking factory

This description of Scrooge travelling about the planet with the Ghost of Christmas Present strikes at the heart of Dickens' message.  Dickens wanted to shed light on the plight of the poor and destitute.  Coming out of a fairly desperate childhood (his family ended up in debtor's prison when he was 12, he ended up working in a shoeblacking factory and warehouse as a young boy), Dickens was always aware of poverty.  In A Christmas Carol, Dickens pretty much indicts humankind for things like hunger and childhood disease, or, as The Ghost of Christmas Present later says at the end of Stave Three, ignorance and want.  Dickens doesn't let anyone of us off the hook.

That's the dark side of A Christmas Carol that rarely gets much attention.  Most people prefer to think of this book as a tale of a miser who is taught the true meaning of Yuletide joy.  Really, Dickens is out to teach all of us a lesson.

I may drop my spare change into the Salvation Army bucket outside Wal-Mart during the holidays, but there's Charles Dickens standing over my shoulder, shaking his head and saying, "Not enough."  Helping the poor is not just a Christmas thing.  It's a year-round thing.  That's the real, and most important message, of the novel.  We should keep the image of Tiny Tim's deathbed at the forefront of our minds.  Charles Dickens is like Smokey the Bear, reminding his readers, "Only you can prevent this tragedy."

I know I don't do enough when it comes to helping the less fortunate.  I know it.  Unlike Scrooge, I haven't learned the precepts of the Ghost of Christmas Present, because I still get caught up in the "dealings of my trade" and forget about the true business of humanity:  visiting the sick, lonely, struggling, poor people of the Earth, and, somehow, leaving a blessing.  That's what we should all be doing.  That's what Charles Dickens is telling us.  The real work of Christmas begins after the presents are opened and the last of the leftover turkey is eaten.  That's when we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

I'm going to step off my soapbox now.  I'm not lecturing you.  I'm lecturing myself.  Every time I encounter A Christmas Carol in any of its incarnations, I feel a little guilty.  Sometimes a lot guilty.  I think it's a book that's meant to make you a little uncomfortable.  Sometimes a lot uncomfortable.

Saint Marty is feeling a lot uncomfortable this morning.