Why does the ghost of Christmas past carry an extinguisher?

Answer 1

This is not a moder extinguisher. In the victorian era in Britain they would use a cone shaed item which had a handle on the outside to hold it . The cone would be placed over candles to extinguish the flame - they can with long handles that could reach candles up high as well. In this case the Ghist carried on representative of of that function as the Ghost head was describes by Dickens as " But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm."

The lght was significant has light the way through Scrooges dark past

Answer 2

The ghost of Christmas past carries an extinguisher to symbolize putting out the flame of the past to help Scrooge let go of negative memories and emotions, allowing him to move forward and embrace change and transformation. The extinguisher represents the power to extinguish the darkness of the past and bring about new beginnings.