Other than the accounts of a birth in a manger, the most popular and best-known Christmas story in the English-speaking world is Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” First published on Dec. 19, 1843, this novella about a miser, visitations from three Christmas spirits, and a conversion of the heart was sold out by Christmas Day of that same year.
Since then, generations have read this beloved tale. The miser’s name, Scrooge, became a part of the English language, used to designate a grouchy money-grubber who despises the holiday season. In addition, more than 100 movies, television episodes, plays, ballets, musicals, and operas have recreated “A Christmas Carol.” To find someone over the age of 12 who’s never heard of the celebrated Scrooge would likely be a more demanding task than finding the proverbial needle in a haystack….