In the opening scene of a Christmas carol, after Scrooge's nephew tries and fails to share his

Christmas spirit with Scrooge, two gentlemen enter Scrooge's office holding books and papers.

One of the two says, at this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually

desirable that we should make some slight provisions for the poor and destitute,

who suffer greatly at the present time.

Many thousands are in want of common necessaries, hundreds of thousands are in want of common

comforts, sir.

And you know the rest from there.

Scrooge spends the rest of the story learning the error of his ways and witnessing the plight

of those less fortunate, leading to his transformation into a kind-hearted and charitable man.

But unlike old Ebenezer Scrooge, most of us don't need to be visited by three spirits

on Christmas Eve to feel that extra bit of benevolence and generosity come Christmas time.

It's like Washington Irving said in his 1876 book, Old Christmas. Amidst the general

call to happiness, the bustle of the spirits, and the stir of the affections which prevail at

this period, what bosom can remain insensible? It is indeed the season of regenerated feeling,

the season for kindling not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall,

but the genial flame of charity in the heart.

Or as that charity collector rebutted to Scrooge, it is a time of all others when want is

keenly felt and abundance rejoices.

The season is a perfect mix, the general feelings of warmth and affection toward one

and all, the free flow of spending, and the impossible to ignore contrasts between the luxurious

excess of the season and the various ways that many among us struggle to meet their basic needs.

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