“I will honour Christmas, and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.  The spirits of all Three shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons that they teach me.  Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”

A Christmas Carol is a Christmas classic that should be found on bookshelves and read annually.  This is the second time that I have read it (although I have seen numerous versions of the movie).  It is well-written and shares the sentiment of the holiday spirit, of giving and the importance of kindness and generosity.

I will not describe the book in detail as the story is well-known. Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly business man is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley.  He has suffered in death as the result of the life had lived.  He serves notice that Scrooge will be visited by 3 ghosts – the ghosts of Christmas Past, Future and Present – and that this is his chance to change his destiny.

This enduring story of redemption and second chances is one that everyone should read.  The message is important, not only at Christmas but year round as we need to be kind and thoughtful to others.  Everyone should read the original story at Christmas!

“And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless us, Every One!”