[elwes5]

This may get me some anger but I always found Scrooge to be a very sympathetic character. He starts off as a hopeful boy who just wants to spend some time at Christmas with his family and is shipped off to work as it is his time to do so. Gets dumped hard by his GF on Christmas, for she thinks he only thinks of money when he just wants to do right by her. His only friend died on Christmas. So by the time we see him he sees Christmas as a 'humbug' or trick. He is crazy rich yet spends none of it not even on himself. He is always looking for someone to play a trick on him. So when his nephew shows up and says 'come to Christmas dinner' he treats it with suspicion and blows him off hard. It takes the ghosts to show him that while some people are terrible most are just trying to get by and that his 'terrible' Christmases were mostly by his own hand. Their message share yourself with others for you do not have much time left. He gets the point. He even plays a bit of a 'humbug' on his fellow co-worker the next day when he gives him a raise.

[bryanrasmussen]

I think this is pretty much the standard interpretation of Scrooge, those who know him best - Bob Cratchit, Fred (Scrooge's nephew), and Belle (his former fiance) - all feel pity for him.