The Writer’s Christmas Spirit

Christmas is a time to reflect on the holiday spirit and what it means to be a writer. And no one can speak on the subject quite like Charles Dickens.

A Christmas Carol is a tale about a grumpy man named Ebenezer Scrooge who loves business and money, not in that particular order. He likes them so much he’s a detriment to society. To fix the problem, the Cosmic powers send three well-meaning ghosts who show him the true spirit of Christmas. They look at the lives of others in the past, present, and future. The intervention works. He changes to incorporate love and tenderness into his manner and business. Scrooge uses his wealth to care for people experiencing poverty.

Sometimes, we can have the same attitude as Scrooge and we hoard our work and skills. True, it may be because of fear of rejection or concern that people won’t like us. And yet, a case can be made that Scrooge lived alone and piled up wealth for similar reasons—people may not like him. In fact, he ended a relationship based on…what? He refuses to share God’s gifts.

Scrooge repents. And by the end, what do we want from Ebenezer Scrooge? How do we want him to react? After he sees the light, do we want to hear a genuine apology and access to his wealth? Not especially. For better or for worse, he earned his money. And being a jerk doesn’t mean he was a loser toward us. Instead, we’d like to see his heart change. After all, heart changes worked for the Grinch. I don’t know about you, rather than Scrooge’s money, I’d value Scrooge enjoying himself and handing out his wealth to create moments of joy. I want him to lead the way with the joy that comes from his heart.

Christmas is a unique time of year. Instead of hoarding your skills, consider doing what we’d love to see Scrooge do—enjoy writing and dispense your words with deliberate gifting.

What do I mean?

When you send people a card, attach a little poem. Perhaps take the time to write down how much someone means to you. Social media posts can be uplifting and clever. Write a Christmas short story and send it to your friends. Offer to write a bulletin piece about the manger scene and make the moment come alive. Don’t hoard your skills. Use them to uplift others with joy!

What small writing acts can you think of to help bring joy to others this Christmas?

Beliefs represented by individual authors are not necessarily shared by all members of ICW.