So Not Scrooge!

While hunting around for Scrooge-related collectibles online, it's somewhat surprising how often I see this 1997 Hallmark ornament identified as Scrooge:

It does look quite a bit like Scrooge looking out the window on Christmas morning, perhaps about to tell the kid to get the prize turkey, but...

The caption says, "When, what to my wondering eyes should appear..." That's a quote from "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (maybe), colloquially known as "The Night Before Christmas," not "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Duh!

The back of the box makes that clear:

As does the underside of the ornament itself:

Which raises the question as to whether the online sellers don't know the difference or are trying to trick potential buyers into thinking it's actually Scrooge!

And do the potential buyers not know the difference?

It's one of those things that shouldn't really bug me, but it just does, you knw?

What bothers me more, though, is that I want one anyway!

Basil Rathbone - "The Night Before Christmas" (1942)

"The Night Before Christmas" (1942)

Basil Rathbone

Columbia Records

We now turn from the mash-up of "A Christmas Carol" and "The Night Before Christmas" to a straightforward recording of the poem by frequent Scrooge portrayer Basil Rathbone.

"The Night Before Christmas" being the colloquial title of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," the famous poem credited to Clement C. Moore.

I say "credited to" because there is apparently some debate over whether Moore actually wrote the poem, which was originally published anonymously. Such matters don't matter an awful lot in the general scheme of things, but it's interesting.

In any event, this 12-inch 78rpm record was released by Columbia Records.

Give it a listen:

I've seen this record occasionally listed as being from 1939, but the 1942 date seems more appropriate, as it has a cappella backing from the Robert Mitchell Boychoir with no orchestration, befitting the 1942-1944 musicians' strike and the resulting recording ban.

 

1942 was also the release year for Basil's recording of "A Christmas Carol," which no doubt had a much longer production schedule.

Here's the flipside of "Night Before," "Little Jesus":

Basil Rathbone and Christmas - a good combination!

"Scrooge's Night Before Christmas" (2016)

"Scrooge's Night Before Christmas" (2016)
Gibbs Smith
Adaptor: Julie Petersen
Illustrator: Sheryl Dickert

Here's another recent adaptation pf "A Christmas Carol," this one from the "Night Before Christmas" series published by Gibbs Smith.

It's something of a mash-up, as Scrooge's story is told in the style of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," the famous poem credited to Clement C. Moore.

Here are a couple of sample pages:

You can find out more at the Gibbs Smith website.

Good fun!