I suffer no small amount of grief from friends and acquaintances that know of my penchant for Christmas music. I’m unapologetic about it and I listen year round.
There truly aren’t enough songs out there with messages of love and peace and joy to the world. Even Mr. Scrooge eventually declared he would keep the holiday spirit all through the year. Yes, we need more unbridled affection, tolerance and generosity.
As a kid with a keen analytical mind that practically never shut down, I bought into this philosophy hook, line and tinsel. That sort of thing makes good sense when you’re seven. But even Ebenezer would testify it’s no easy task. Who wants to be around someone so relentlessly and ruthlessly cheerful every bloody day of the year? I get it.
So yes, I slide in some yuletide tunes every month or so. I’m no longer seven but I still need the fix. And it’s all the doing of that dear Mr. Dickens.
When the real holiday rolls around, I wrap myself up in the tradition of it all and am happy when I stumble upon any previously undiscovered bits of seasonal fare.
For the past several years, holidays have been relatively quiet since my family is widely distributed around the country. One of these recent Christmas mornings alone at home I turned on the television and discovered a 1938 version of “A Christmas Carol” I had never seen. Perfect!
I’m in the best of moods, all settled in for the telling of a good tale. And then it happened. My analytical mind woke up.
About ten minutes into the film I started wondering — what exactly is wrong with Tiny Tim?
Neither Mr. Dickens nor any of the film adaptations I’ve seen have ever been clear on this point.
While this very thought is building up a healthy head of steam on the hamster wheel in my mind, up on the screen Bob Cratchit comes bounding down the hall of his home with little Tiny Tim perched high on his shoulders. Really high.
And they’re headed straight for a very low doorway.
And suddenly it hits me what the kid’s malady is — Bob Cratchit is an idiot. A sweet-natured, bumbling good guy, yes. But still an idiot. Multiple and massive head trauma is surely in store for this kid, but no one else in the family ever seems to notice, especially Bob.
“Poor Tiny Tim,” they cry. “The nose bleeds and dizzy spells are getting worse. His hats no longer fit and the doctors are stumped.”
I’m trying to recapture the feeling of a holly-trimmed, pine scented Christmas of yore and my damned brain won’t turn off. Why can’t I just enjoy this?
As the film progresses, a disturbing pattern continues to develop. Consider when the Ghost of Christmas-Yet-to-Come announces, “If these things remain unchanged, Tiny Tim will not live to see another Christmas.”
Well, yeah. This kid’s not going to make it to New Years if Bob keeps smacking his little noggin into those solid oak door frames.
Later in the graveyard scene, it’s a little off-putting trying to stay with the story when I just can’t help scanning the background to see if maybe there are a few other little “Cratchit” headstones for Tiny Tim’s predecessors. Long-gone tykes like himself who suffered the same unwitting fate.
I made it through the end of the movie and of course it was all smiles and warmth and giddy camaraderie. But I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I’d somehow been robbed of a bit more of the innocence we all hold in reserve to see us through the horrors of adulthood.
I still lament a bit for all my grown friends who heeded the call to “act your age”. In so doing, far too many among us have allowed the lessons of childhood to slip away. It’s important — in fact crucial — as an adult to remember to laugh at ourselves and to play like children. These are mandatory requirements for being a fully functional adult.
As evidence in my argument I call your attention to the main character of “A Christmas Carol”. Charles Dickens did not write this story for children. His target audience was, and is, any and every contemporary of Ebenezer Scrooge.
At any age, and at any time of year, the spirit of this wonderful philosophy supports me in my darkness and my joy.
God bless us every one…? You bet.
You’ll excuse me now while I crank up some Burl Ives and dance in my pajamas.
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Nouveau Scarecrow 
Hi, I do believe this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will return yet again since i have book-marked it.
Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.
How very sweet of you to say so. Thank you, Susana. So nice of you to stop by.
“It’s important—in fact crucial—as an adult to remember to laugh at ourselves and to play like children” I totally agree!!!
Thank you for reading. Yes, that growing up too fast or all the way does tend to put a crimp in our sense of playfulness. Cheers.
I too have Christmas music in my car all year round. I only change out the difference Christmas CDs 😉 After a really, not so great day at work, Christmas music is one of the things that can bring me out of my funk. So, I totally get this 🙂
Nice. I was just listening to some today. Even the contemporary stuff puts me in a traditional mood. Thanks for reading.
Nice post, love watching Christmas carol. Christmas in Brazil is too hot doesn’t feel right, even though they have the tree, santa, carols. Listening to jingling bells in Portuguese is different. Happy A to Z.
Many thanks for the kind response to my post. Yes, I can appreciate the less-than-yuletide spirit when tropical sweat is dripping from St. Nick. Thanks for saying hello and for the kind words.
I laugh at your take on Tiny Tim – indeed in the movies it’s amazing he’s alive!!!
I don’t think Dickens really targeted children as his audience for any of his stories. He wanted man to wake up and see the state of affairs (not so great from his vantage point). It was a world filled with workhouses and meager amounts of food for all but the rich. If he lived today, what would Charles have written about???
Nice to meet you. great A to Z applications
Moondustwriter
A hearty thank you for your gracious words. Thanks for stopping by. Very nice to meet you as well. And to your question of what Dickens would do were he alive today….? Why, he’d be writing about the very same things, of course. Times haven’t changed that much. Thank you again. You’re very sweet.
I am sitting here laughing at your observations and thinking…thank God I am not the only one who thinks like this.
thanks
Do happy to have given you a chuckle, Stephen. Thank you for stopping by.
I enjoyed reading your post. I love the way Dickens wrote about misfortune in satirical ways and how his stories always ended happy and hopeful. My favs were Bleakhouse and Little Dorrit probably because I can be a sappy girl lol. But I like the thought of having a Christmas spirit year round!
Christmas is never not in the air for me. So happy you embrace the year-round holiday feel as well. Anything to brighten the world, I say. Have you read all the Dickens Christmas books? “Most folks are surprised to discover that “A Christmas Carol” was not the only one……!
What a great post. I love your line, “the innocence we all hold in reserve to see us through the horrors of adulthood.”
Cindy, you’re very sweet. It’s one of those lines that just came out as the appropriate thing to say. I didn’t give it a second thought until you just pointed it out to me. How very flattering. I thank you for your kind comment.
I love it that you listen to Christmas music year around. If it lifts you, why not? You must love going shopping and riding in elevators around November and December! Just dropping in to say hi from the A to Z Challenge. Fantastic to see so many WordPress blogs partcipating!
Yes, the seasonal songs just do it for me. Thank you stopping by to read. When considering which site to blog on, I did a Google search on the best blog sites and WordPress was number one. It had the best reviews overall and seemed to suit my tastes. Plus, the name — WordPress…. It just works for me.