The tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge is enshrined in our holiday traditions. You cannot turn on the television without seeing a remake of this classic tale. It is performed in playhouses across the world. It is even captured in our vocabulary of the season. . . "Don't be such a Scrooge."

Yet. . If you have not read the original tale written by Charles Dickens then you are missing out.

The tale is a novella. It is rather short and I finished it this time around in just two hours. However, even after reading it for every holiday season since Jr. High I still enjoy the way that brilliantness of the words and the mastery of the world building. Dickens is one of my favorite writers, and this work is no exception.

I remember the first time I was introduced to A Christmas Carol. It was in Jr. High where one of my teachers wrote "Any idiot who goes around with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!" That teacher was a bit of a Scrooge himself, but as an adult I would be in his place also. While the quote was meant as an anti holiday statement, it started my love for Charles Dickens.

If you have not read A Christmas Carol - the actual novella by Charles Dickens - then I strongly urge you to do so!