Ebenezer Scrooge’s biting criticism
of Christmas was true on the visible level: “Christmas is a time for buying
things.”
The Grinch stole every inane
accessory of Christmas festivity in the attempt to cancel it. The holiday, to him, seemed merely an excuse
for noise making and frivolous rituals.
Ebenezer’s conversion was a climax
built on the revelation of three distinct truths: His broken past, his hapless
present, and his hopeless future. His
conversion was not directly influenced by Christmas themes or traditions; rather,
Christmas afforded him the opportunity to reconcile with others. He did so mainly by giving away what he had
previously withheld.
The Grinch’s conversion was
effected by a noise. His preceding
resentment centered around noise, but the new noise was different and
unexpected. What grew his heart was the
realization that the bobbles and trinkets which he had stolen were accidental
to the meaning of the celebration.
Neither “A Christmas Carol” nor
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” are Christ-centered stories; at least not palpably. Both stories deal with a grouchy person who
desires no part in the celebration but are nevertheless wooed into the most
excellent participation. Both stories are
quite predictable. Why?
In both stories, the villain
protagonists would have been correct in their judgment if their estimation of
Christmas had been correct. They scorned
what they saw and heard. There was
something hidden from them and their lack of knowing that thing made them
villainous. In one sense, it was through
much labor that both characters were changed.
In another sense, it was something very simple and direct which changed
them. Scrooge saw his grave. The Grinch heard a sound.
Dr. Seuss’ story is much simpler
than Dickens’ (and this should be obvious, as it was written for
children). The moral of it is
nonetheless important: Trees and carols
and presents are celebration enhancers.
They give expression to the meaning of the celebration. The meaning itself should be enough inspiration
to hold hands and sing out in joy.
Ebenezer’s journey to the light of
Christmas is much subtler. His vice is
singular and apparent, but the means by which he is freed of his greed shows
that he is a complicated character. He
is forgetful of his past and in denial of his social condition. He not only fails to see the meaning of
Christmas; he fails to see himself. It
is by seeing himself that he is changed.
Reality is much more complex than
stories but, by simplifying reality into story-form, we can understand it
better. If Christmas does not inspire us
to hold hands and sing out in joy, regardless of what gifts we were given, than
we have problems. Our problems are
Scrooge’s problems. Scrooge’s problems
are the Grinch’s problems. We perceive
things but remain ignorant and in our ignorance we hold false attitudes towards
those things. This holds true not merely
for stuff, but for ourselves also. We
forget who we are, where we came from, and where we are heading. The truth is what changes us, if only we see
it.
We are, each one of us,
broken. We live in uneasy company with
the rest of the human race. We are all,
right now, losing time until death.
The trouble with us modern-day
misers is that not only do we fail to see the facts, we fail to see their
relation to Christmas. The funny thing
about misers, like the pre-repentant Scrooge, is that they neglect themselves
in order to store up wealth: The wealth
they store up is used for no worldly comfort or what might be deemed
frivolity. What they sweat and strain to
accumulate is no more than the feeling that they
need not worry. Whatever dire
necessity they need, money will buy it.
In a way, we are all misers. We
neglect things we perceive as inane for the sake of feeling OK. Well, the joke is on us. We sell ourselves short only for the facts to
remain: We’re screw-ups, we’re alone,
we’re going to die.
There is good news for those who will hear it.
We are, each one of us,
broken. We are not, as a species, broken.
We live in uneasy company with each other, but we are united in the
prospect of peace. We are all, right
now, losing time until death, yet death is unnecessary.
What insane paradoxes! I am broken but unbroken. My enemies are my
friends. I must die but I do not have
to. How could they make sense? For Ebenezer, the answer must have been obvious.
The moral of both stories, so often
echoed by so many Christmas films, are often presented to be, “don’t be a stick
in the mud.” A child might accept such a
moral without question and so, for lack of thoughtful adults, Christmas becomes
just another “kid thing.” Be jolly, give
out lots of presents, and pretend that sometimes magic exists. Seeing and hearing amount to things beginning
to look a lot like Christmas and Silver Bells on every street corner.
“Noise, noise, noise…” says the
Grinch.
The joy of Christmas which changed
hardened hearts cannot have been Bing Crosby’s dulcet tones. It must have been something a little more
serious.
If there is a God, the facts are
worse. Not only are we broken, but there
is someone we must answer to for all of the crappy things we have done. Not only are we at war with the world, but
God is watching it all go down. Not only
will we die, but God will be there… waiting.
Then comes Christmas. God decides to become one of us. He is born into the world as a
flesh-and-blood human being; a messy, puny little baby.
God, master of the universe, is cold.
