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Ghost of Christmas Past
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a character in what may be the best-known work of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.
The Ghost of Christmas Past was the first of the three spirits (after the visitation by Jacob Marley) that haunted the miser Ebenezer Scrooge in order to prompt him to repent. It showed him scenes from his youth, that occurred on or around Christmas, in order to demonstrate to him the necessity of changing his ways, as well as to show the reader how Scrooge came to be the person he would become.
According to Dickens' novel, the Ghost of Christmas Past appeares to Scrooge as a white-robed, androgynous figure of indeterminate age. It had on its head a blazing light, reminiscent of a candle flame. It carried with it a metal cap, made in the shape of a candle extinguisher, with which Scrooge finally banishes it by extinguishing the light on its head. While the ghost is often portrayed as a woman, its gender is referred to as male.