Why does Scrooge say “Bah! Humbug!”?

Scrooge uses it to dismiss anything he thinks is foolish, especially Christmas. He thinks the holiday is only a time for paying bills and spending money.

What changes Scrooge’s mind in A Christmas Carol?

Seeing his own past, the happiness of others and a lonely future makes Scrooge realise how much he has missed. He then chooses kindness while he still has time.

What does Scrooge do on Christmas morning?

He sends a prize turkey to the Cratchits, joins his nephew Fred’s dinner and gives Bob Cratchit a raise. He also helps Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family.

From A Christmas Carol

Ebenezer Scrooge

A grumpy miser • Needs a warm heart

A grumpy, penny-pinching old man who learns how wonderful it feels to be kind.

Who is Ebenezer Scrooge?

Ebenezer Scrooge is a grumpy, penny-pinching old man who counts his money in a cold, dark office and says “Bah! Humbug!” to Christmas. One Christmas Eve, the ghost of his old partner Marley and three spirits take him on a journey through his past, present and future. Scrooge discovers how good it feels to be kind and wakes up a joyful, generous new man.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a character in A Christmas Carol, the 1843 novel by Charles Dickens, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.

What is Ebenezer Scrooge like?

Grumpy
Curious
Generous

Ebenezer Scrooge’s story

Scrooge is a rich moneylender who lives and works alone, and he has not a kind word for anyone. When his cheerful nephew invites him to Christmas dinner, he says no. When two gentlemen ask for help for the poor, he sends them away. He even grumbles about giving his clerk a day off. That night his dead partner Marley appears in chains and warns him to change.

Three spirits then take Scrooge on a journey. The first shows him his lonely school days, his kind sister Fan, jolly Mr. Fezziwig and the sweetheart Belle, who leaves him because money has grown more important to him than love. The second shows him the joy of poor families like the Cratchits and Fred’s party. The third shows a bleak future in which nobody mourns him, and a Cratchit home missing a child.

Shaken, Scrooge begs for a chance to change. He wakes up on Christmas morning, delighted to find he still has time. He sends a giant turkey to the Cratchits, joins Fred’s dinner, gives Bob a raise and helps Tiny Tim, who does not die. Dickens ends by saying that Scrooge knew how to keep Christmas well, as well as any man alive.

“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.”

Scrooge, waking on Christmas morning, overjoyed. From the original 1843 novel by Charles Dickens.

A moment to remember

On Christmas morning, Scrooge leans out his window and asks a passing boy to fetch the giant prize turkey so he can secretly send it to Bob’s family.

Jacob Marley: his late business partner
Bob Cratchit: his clerk
Fred: his nephew
Tiny Tim: the boy he helps
Ghost of Christmas Past: the first spirit who visits him

Talk about it

Scrooge changed his whole life in one night. What is one kind thing you could do for someone this week?

Questions about Ebenezer Scrooge

Why does Scrooge say “Bah! Humbug!”?: Scrooge uses it to dismiss anything he thinks is foolish, especially Christmas. He thinks the holiday is only a time for paying bills and spending money.
What changes Scrooge’s mind in A Christmas Carol?: Seeing his own past, the happiness of others and a lonely future makes Scrooge realise how much he has missed. He then chooses kindness while he still has time.
What does Scrooge do on Christmas morning?: He sends a prize turkey to the Cratchits, joins his nephew Fred’s dinner and gives Bob Cratchit a raise. He also helps Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family.