When I was a missionary, my mission president had us all take a break from the work during the Christmas season to watch A Christmas Carol–any particular version, no matter. When I first came out it was only a couple of months before Christmas, so I was a little bit surprised with this rule–after all, isn’t the missionary work the most important thing to be doing? (I was an extremely hard working missionary, especially in my first year)
However, after watching the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol (the one with George C Scott), I saw exactly why the president felt it was important to take time out to catch the Christmas spirit. Charles Dicken’s story is just so classic, with its stingy, lonely, greedy protagonist who finds his life completely transformed by the values and virtues Christmas was meant to celebrate: charity, love, kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, empathy, cheerfulness, compassion–a love of God and an understanding that “mankind is [our] business.” When you get right down to it, that’s what Christmas is all about–that’s the culmination of all of our cheery Christmas songs, our beloved holiday traditions, all of the crazy things we do only once a year. It’s great.
We’ve got a few quirky traditions in my family, but now that my sisters are married, I’m starting to find out that we’re not the only ones! Every year, the Law’s throw a movie marathon with nearly a dozen different film versions of A Christmas Carol. I showed up for the last one around 10:15 pm, the one (big surprise!) with George C Scott. Holy cow–nothing could have gotten me more into the Christmas spirit than that! Such a good movie–such good acting–such a magnificent transformation–such a wonderful message.
Christmas isn’t about material things. With the economic crisis and the financial meltdown hitting us full swing, it’s not hard to feel like this is the year that the Grinch stole Christmas. But really, it’s not about that. It’s about love and giving, about appreciating the people in our lives, and the blessings of God to all of us. It’s about remembering that Jesus Christ gave us an infinite gift, and that no matter our trials and hardships, he will always bring good things to our lives, because he loves us. It’s about remembering that mankind is our business, and that showing our love and doing good, kind things for each other is more important than any of our material comforts and luxuries. Christmas is Christmas whether it comes to the rich or the poor, and because of Christ, all of us are blessed.
When I’m married and have a family of my own, I want to make it a tradition to watch this movie every year. It’s good. Charles Dicken’s story shows us what Christmas is really about, in a profound and timeless way. What a beautiful story. What a wonderful time of year. What a wonderful gift that God has given us in his son, Jesus Christ.
