#spirited

Horse Mule breed of the day: Miniature Mule

Height: 7-9hh

Common coat colors: Various roanss, duns, black and grey

I love A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read it every year. Every year.

I love the idea that:

Scrooge is not evil and shut-up in his heart because of some trauma that occurred in his past. He had examples of goodness and charity and love in his little sister, in Fezziwig, in his fiancée. He chose to start living a life of selfishness, and he was reaping the consequences of that.

Christmas Day is worth celebrating with everything you can celebrate it with—and every character from miners to seamen out on the water to the Cratchit family with ribbons and geese instead of turkey and finery to Scrooge’s nephew to peasants are all good if they choose to set the day aside and treat it as sacred, and foolish if they do anything else. They’re generous in their celebration just like Scrooge should be generous to those less-fortunate. Because generosity is giving as much as you can with others in mind, not giving as little as you can with yourself in mind.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is the most cheerful and giving of all the ghosts—he’s the only one who can affect what is going on in the world. The Ghost of Christmas Future just points and he’s designed to be unknowable, unseeable, unbearable, even to some degree by Scrooge because of his mantle. The Ghost of Christmas Past is small, hard to look at, but lights up parts of how Scrooge wants to change his present to align more with good examples from the past: he sees Fezziwig self-sacrificially, inspiringly leading his apprentices, and wishes he could’ve been that inspiring to Bob Cratchit in his own office. But the point is, neither Past nor Future are active in the scenes they take Scrooge to. Only Present can do anything with his torch and sprinklings that helps the people who can’t see him. Just like how Scrooge can only change what he’s doing now, right now. No use regretting the past, the things you’ve lost. No use fearing the future, when you might be penniless. Just give, give, give NOW. Now is all you’ve got. The past illuminates, the future cautions, but the present is for giving all you’ve got.

Women are spoken of in the novel like treasures (except for Mrs. Dilber.

Children are spoken of in the novel like treasures.

The material in the world matters, but is inextricably linked to the immaterial, so the material goes “bad” when it’s separated from the immaterial value. Tiny Tim, for example, can’t contribute anything to the Cratchit household materially. But when he’s on Bob’s shoulder, coming home, Bob walks faster and has a lighter step, despite the fact that he’s technically carrying more. Tiny Tim’s whole value to that household is immaterial—they just love him, and he is cheerful and quotes Scripture and alludes to life after death in a household that should constantly be oppressed by the poverty they have in this material world.

Kind of addendum to the Christmas Present point, but every single ghost Scrooge sees are miserable for one reason: they can’t assist others. There’s an idea of unlimited potential for good in human beings, but not in and of themselves and not when they’re focused on themselves. And there’s a ticking clock on how long you have to achieve it.

The name “Ebenezer” means “rock of remembrance.” Scrooge needs to remember what life is really about and Christmas is a day of remembrance.

Christmas is about Jesus Christ, perfect and owing us nothing, unwanted by us, choosing to step in and be gracious and kind and invite us to eternal life anyway. Goes out of his way to do so. And Bob Cratchit toasts Scrooge even though he had no reason to. And Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, goes out of his way every year to invite his uncle and beg him to come to Christmas dinner. Christ honored the authority of God in loving us that way, Fred and Bob honored the “authority” of Christmas in loving Scrooge that way.

So needless to say the very best adaptation I’ve ever seen is Disney’s A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey (honorable mention to the Christian-speckled Muppets Christmas Carol) and the very worst by far is Spirited.

By far.

It’s another one of those:

“Yeah you’re broken but it’s not your fault, it’s more the fault of society and probably one or both of your parents, not something inherently bad in you.”

”Nobody’s perfect! We’re all kind of broken! Look at all the funny shapes that takes. Kind of fun to be messy, isn’t it?”

”Christmas is whatever you make it. You’re in charge, so hey, if you want to make money off it, exploit it, use it as an excuse to hug the people you call family, you do you. It’s whatever you make it.”

”And hey, isn’t it kind of terrible, trying to impact the world for what you call good? Look at all the hurt you’re causing trying to get people to change! Who says you need ‘redeeming?’ Just do your best, whatever that looks like is good enough, no standard, no bar to meet. Christmas is you, being in charge.”

the ghost of Christmas past