Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown Characters #5

Bah Humbug!

E is for Ebenezer , Scrooge that is!
Ebenezer Scrooge  is the main character in the classic Christmas novel by Charles Dickens. He is described ..."The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice...".
 Depicted as a stereotypical nasty money lender, Ebenezer hates Christmas,  is mean to the poor and  exploits his employees - not a nice old man at all! On Christmas Eve, the ghost of his previous business partner Jacob Morley visits and warns that like him, his fate in the after life will be to wander the earth forever because of his greed for money and cold heartedness in life. The visitation of the three Christmas ghosts - the Past, the Present and the Future offers a last chance of redemption by showing Ebenezer visions of the  past love of his sister and fiancée who are now both lost to him; the pure joy and kindness of  spirit of  his nephew and that of his employee Bob Cratchit, in spite of the  current serious illness of his son, Tiny Tim; and  then the tragic death of Tiny Tim who could not be offered adequate care because of the poor salary of his father, and the lonely death of Ebenezer himself.
When Ebenezer Scrooge awakens, he finds it is Christmas morning, and he is immediately changed - he becomes the model of generosity and humanity. He is reconciled with his nephew, and becomes a benefactor to Tim Cratchit.  One could say that Ebenezer Scrooge is a miraculous transformation!
Ebenezer Scrooge has been voted the most well known Christmas character in Western literature and "scrooge" is popularly used to describe someone who is miserly and cold hearted although  Scrooge undergoes such a humane and radical personality change in the story. The phrase "Bah Humbug" is a declaration that Christmas is a fraud and  has also become  synonymous with Ebenezer Scrooge although in "A Christmas Carol" he only says this twice in the whole book and ultimately  he is the amazing example that the spirit of Christmas can indeed work miracles .

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Countdown #25envelopes/9 : Holly

  9 December Christmas Countdown #25envelopes : Holly . The Druids of ancient Britain believed holly leaves had great powers of fertility and longevity . Nowadays, Holly has become a symbol of a Christian Christmas. It is also said that the sharp holly represents the crown of thorns that Jesus wore, and the red berries the blood he shed, so it has quite a religious significance. Today’s envelope is a simple collage with paper and fabric. I couched (stitched) Holly ribbon and embroidered French knots for the berries. The Holly theme is inspired by one of my favourite Australian Christmas stamps, depicting an angel with holly leaf wings . Today, I was stitching the holly ribbon onto the envelope at the Wednesday group and had planned to glue on some paper berries but a friend convinced me that embroidered ones would look much better and I think she is right!

#SeptTextileLove Day 5

  #SeptTextileLove #STL26Day5   ‘Caring’ … so much of what textile artists do involves caring - for the environment , for others, for our own health and well-being , for social justice, for our art … today I’m advocating caring about sourcing our materials . I use lots of embroidery thread and it is sometimes tempting to buy cheaper imported threads than the ones I really love to work with, - hand dyed right here in Australia by a small    family business . I looked at one of the omnipresent online ads with its    incorrect spelling and the suggestion that bulk is better gives strong    hints about the ‘quality’ and the price makes me wonder about the working conditions and rights of those who produce and package the thread?    I care that the people who make the materials I use get a fair wage and work in safe conditions. I also care that the quality of the materials I use are the best I can afford and have the least negative impact on ...

#SeptTextileLove26 Day 7

  #SeptTextileLove #STL26Day7 ‘Historical’ ... Family history is often a source of inspiration and information for my work. This stitched work featuring a photo of my great grandmother also acts as a commentary on the Chinese historical practice of foot binding, hence the inclusion of an x ray photograph of a female bound foot. It looks painful and undoubtedly was , but it was considered 'beautiful". What contemporary body shaping practices do we still engage in for the sake of ‘beauty’? Historical body shaping practices included tight-lacing corsets, foot binding, and neck elongation , all used to mould the human form into culturally defined ideals of beauty. (AI overview) Foot Binding in China Starting from Song elites and eventually popularized and ended in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was seen as an idolized representation of women's petite beauty, and the practice was referred to as "三寸金莲" , 'three-inch golden lotus' Wikipedia . This practice...