Merry Christmas, Scrooge!

It's hard to live down a bad reputation. Just ask Scrooge. True, he lived a lot of life hating Christmas. He was a miserly old man who could hardly find the heart to give a day off to his employee. He wouldn't give to the poor, claiming his taxes already went to things like the debtor's prison. He even coined a phrase to express disgust with all things Christmas. Bah humbug!

But do you remember the joy Scrooge felt when he awoke and found that he hadn't missed Christmas? The first thing he did was buy the biggest Christmas goose for Cratchit's family. In short, there was a total transformation. He did not go into work that Christmas day. Instead, he got dressed up and attended his nephew's Christmas party. He even made donations to the poor, much to the surprise of the philanthropists. In fact, "Many laughed to see this alteration in him, but he let them laugh and little heeded them. His own heart laughed and that was quite enough for him. And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge."

So why do we still use "Scrooge" derisively? I say "Scrooge" is compliment, and a very fine one at that. May we all get to spend Christmas like Ebenezer Scrooge, giving gifts, helping the poor, celebrating with family and friends, and laughing in our hearts. It won't get better than that. God bless us all, everyone!