Claim: The Muppet Christmas Carol is a film about Christmas.

A Christmas Carol in Prose , Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas , commonly known as A Christmas Carol , is a novella by Charles Dickens , first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 . A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge , an old miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past , Present and Yet to Come . After their visits Scrooge is transformed into a kinder , gentler man .   Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past , such as carols , as well as new customs such as Christmas trees . He was influenced by experiences from his own past , and from the Christmas stories of other authors , including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold . Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella , and was inspired to write the story following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged school , one of several establishments for London 's half-starved , illiterate street children . The treatment of the poor and the ability of a self-interested man redeeming himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story . There is discussion among academics as to whether this was a fully secular story , or if it is a Christian allegory .   Published on 19 December , the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve ; by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released . Most critics reviewed the novella positively . The story was illicitly copied in January 1844 ; Dickens took action against the publishers , who went bankrupt , reducing further Dickens 's small profits from the publication . He went on to write four other Christmas stories in subsequent years . In 1849 he began public readings of the story which proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870 , the year of his death . A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages ; the story has been adapted many times for film , stage , opera and other media .   With A Christmas Carol , Dickens captured the zeitgeist of the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday . He has been acknowledged as an influence on the modern Western observance of Christmas and inspired several aspects of Christmas , such as family gatherings , seasonal food and drink , dancing , games and a festive generosity of spirit .