A Christmas Carol--Scrooge's Christmas Yet to Come

Everybody knows the story of A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly, grasping, clutching, covetous old sinner, is shown the error of his ways one Christmas Eve by the three Spirits of Christmas. And since it's Christmastime now, a lot of people are reliving that story, in a lot of different ways, from "Marley was dead, to begin with" to "God bless us everyone!" But have you ever wondered what happened after the book left off? I'm Clara Murphy, Queen of Fandoms, and here is a fan theory for A Christmas Carol.

So, in the Disney adaptation of the tale, I noticed something this year. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come points at the gravestone, sending snow flying out of the way to reveal the name of Ebenezer Scrooge on it, and then progresses through the dates. First the date of birth, then slowly, the date of death. We see he would have died on Christmas Day. We don't see the exact year. But if you look closely, the third number appears to be a 4.

(Pause at 1:16 to see for yourself)

What does this mean? I think it means Scrooge would have died the same year that Tiny Tim would have died, a year or two after the story. So... about 1845. The woman selling his bedcurtains and such says he died all alone, no friends or anyone beside him as he lay there, gasping out his last breath. However, we all know these are shadows of things that may be, but things that can be changed if the course is altered. Which it clearly is.

Now, there may be some people who'd say that all the things that happened that night were just a dream or a nightmare Scrooge had. But I don't believe that. No, Scrooge was visited by real ghosts that Christmas Eve. And I furthermore think that he was taken by those ghosts to those Christmases, past, present, and future. Interestingly enough, in the sequence where the Ghost of Christmas Present shows him around London on Christmas Day, he sees a young boy going down the street in front of his house with a sled. Later, that same boy is the one he gets to buy the turkey. And at his nephew Fred's house, he hears them playing a guessing game, in which the answer is himself. However, at the end of the movie, he interrupts that exact same guessing game.

In other words? Ebenezer Scrooge is a time traveller.

Okay, maybe not like that. But what the heck.

But what, you ask, about that title? What does all this you've just said have to do with the title? And I say, good question.

Well, if he really time travelled, then that means, he really saw his own tombstone. All the things that happened were on the same Christmas Yet To Come. Thus he and Tiny Tim would have died the same year. But in the words of a famous time-travelling doctor, "The future isn't written yet." Scrooge promises to change, and he does indeed. He plans a secret Christmas surprise for Bob Cratchit and family, joins his nephew for Christmas dinner, and then gives Bob a raise and promises to help his family and Tiny Tim in particular. "And to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he became like a second father." The future has been changed.

There's not much else that we learn about what happens after the book ends. Scrooge becomes known as a man who knows how to keep Christmas well. He turns out to be as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city ever knew. That's about all we know. But...

What else has changed?

Well, before I go into that, I need to tell you how I think it would have gone, had Scrooge not changed. Let's say he gets a terrible illness sometime in 1844, but doesn't notice it himself. Since he doesn't have friends, they can't very well be worried about his health. Sometime in November, he finally notices it when it's in some specially bad stages. He grudgingly hires the cheapest doctor possible, who can't do much at that late stage. The doctor does all he can, but goes home for Christmas, and Scrooge dies alone in his cold house on Christmas Day.

But Scrooge has changed. He's not a lone miser anymore. He honours Christmas in his heart all the year long. He might not have disbanded his business (which is my opinion, anyway), but he is generous and kind, and has become a good friend to many. So, let's just see how things have changed with him. Now he has friends--dear friends and family--who would worry about his health. They would notice right off if he was getting sick, and then want him to get the best doctor. They would stay, even on Christmas, and make sure he got well.

So in a way, by losing his own life (his old one of miserly misery, anyway), he saved it. We all know he saved his soul, but he saved his life as well.

What does this mean for the years following? I'm not really sure. Assuming he's... oh, about fifty, maybe sixty when A Christmas Carol happens, he might live another twenty to thirty years, keeping Christmas well. And perhaps, that could lead to other sorts of... adventures. Just what sort exactly is up to the imagination of whoever reads it, I guess. Come up with your own in the comments below!

I mean, just the knowledge that the man's a time traveller should be enough to get some idea or other turning. He could meet up with other time travellers, some possibly quite famous. (I mean, the one in the picture's the most obvious one, but there's others too. Not naming any names: I'll let you do that in the comments. Well, I might name some there...) Or he might meet other famous fictional characters of the time period--Sherlock Holmes is the first that comes to mind. Unless Holmes would be younger then. Would he even be born during the time Scrooge might be alive? I don't know. But it might be cool anyway.

There might be any number of things that could happen. Or, he might live a perfectly normal life. You never know. Think what you like. I personally like to wonder what might happen in Scrooge's Christmases Yet to Come. But for now, let's get ready to join him in keeping this one well.

Merry Christmas! And as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, everyone!