Humbug

I'm obsessed with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I think I love it so much not only for the theme of an amazing conversion, but I love how creepy and (woohoo!) spooky it is. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but A Christmas Carol brings the macabre to the joyous season. I mean - the first line is "Marley was dead to begin with". That? Is awesome! Best first line ever.

I love Jacob Marley. There. I said it! A creepy spectre that visits people with his chains forged by hatred and a jaw rotting off his head and needs to be tied up? Hell-o!!

When I was little he scared the crap out of me. Sad, really - considering that my sole exposure to Jacob Marley was in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and was played . . . by Goofy.

I was scared of Goofy.

Just sad.

My favorite film version of Jacob Marley? Haha! It's totally Statler and Waldorf in "A Muppet Christmas Carol" (shame). Not only do I love me some cranky muppets - but Jacob Marley was bifurcated into brothers. Jacob and Robert Marley. Read: Bob Marley. How great is that?!

ANYWAY, I remember when I was in high school I found out that my friend Amber had never read it. Because I'm insistent and stubborn I made her accompany me to Perkins on Christmas Eve where we chain smoked, drank coffee, and I read the entire novella to her outloud. Yes, I can be a bit obsessive and more than a little nuts.

Here's my only deal with my fav Christmas story:

"Humbug". Bah humbug.

The expression, at least I think, has come to mean "shit on Christmas" to a shit-ton of people. It's just not true. In fact, "humbug" has nothing to do with Christmas. It's a phrase that means trying to trick people with a false sense of gaiety. Scrooge uses it all the time because he's letting people know that he's on to them. That their jovial dispositions aren't fooling him, he won't be swindled out of anything.

Now that you know (because, lets face it - you thought it meant "shit on Christmas") pass it on...

Don't make me haunt your ass next Christmas Eve. Chains don't look good on me.

Merry Merry lovies.