Stave One: Marley’s Ghost – The Warning

The novella opens with the statement:

"Marley was dead: to begin with."

Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s former business partner, has been dead for seven years. Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold-hearted, miserly man who despises Christmas. He refuses to donate to charity, dismissing the poor as "idle people", and begrudgingly allows his clerk, Bob Cratchit, a day off for Christmas.

That evening, Scrooge is visited by Marley’s ghost, who is wrapped in chains forged from his lifetime of greed. Marley warns:

"I wear the chain I forged in life."

He tells Scrooge that unless he changes his ways, he will suffer a similar fate. He announces that three spirits will visit Scrooge that night to show him the consequences of his actions.

Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits – The Ghost of Christmas Past

The Ghost of Christmas Past is an ethereal figure, glowing like a candle. It takes Scrooge on a journey through his own childhood and early adulthood.

1. Scrooge as a lonely boy – He sees himself abandoned at school during Christmas, which evokes his first sign of emotion.

2. His beloved sister, Fan – She rescues him from school, but we learn she died young, leaving behind her son, Fred (Scrooge’s cheerful nephew).

3. Fezziwig’s Christmas party – Scrooge remembers the joy of working for Fezziwig, a generous employer who treated his apprentices with kindness.

4. Belle, his former fiancée – She breaks off their engagement because Scrooge’s love of money has replaced his love for her.

Scrooge is deeply affected, regretting the path his life has taken.

Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits – The Ghost of Christmas Present

The Ghost of Christmas Present is a jolly giant surrounded by festive food. He takes Scrooge to see how others celebrate Christmas:

1. The Cratchit family – Despite their poverty, they share a humble but joyful Christmas dinner. Tiny Tim, Bob’s sickly son, warms Scrooge’s heart with his innocence. The Ghost warns that unless circumstances change, Tiny Tim will die:
   
   "If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die."

2. Fred’s Christmas gathering – Fred and his friends laugh about Scrooge’s miserly ways, yet Fred insists that he will continue to invite his uncle every year.

3. The allegorical children: Ignorance and Want – The Ghost reveals two wretched children beneath his robe, symbolising society’s neglect of the poor. The Ghost warns:
   
   "Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom."

Scrooge begins to feel genuine concern for others.

Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits – The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

The final spirit, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, is a hooded, silent figure who shows Scrooge disturbing visions of the future.

1. A dead man’s possessions are stolen and sold – Thieves mock the deceased man, stripping his corpse of anything valuable.

2. Businessmen casually discuss his death – Scrooge sees how his own passing is met with indifference and greed.

3. The Cratchits in mourning – Tiny Tim has died, and the Cratchits are heartbroken.

4. Scrooge’s own neglected grave – The Ghost reveals Scrooge’s own gravestone, confirming that he is the despised dead man.

In terror, Scrooge begs:

"I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been!"

Scrooge desperately pleads for a second chance, promising to change his ways.

Stave 5: The End of It – Scrooge’s Redemption

Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning, overwhelmed with joy that he has been given a second chance. He laughs for the first time in years and shouts:

"I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy!"

He immediately begins his redemption by:
✔ Buying a prize turkey for the Cratchits.
✔ Donating generously to charity.
✔ Joining Fred’s Christmas celebration.
✔ Raising Bob Cratchit’s salary and promising to care for Tiny Tim.

The novella ends with Scrooge embracing the true spirit of Christmas, and Dickens notes:

"And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge."