Can I wish all readers a merry Christmas?  I am asking because yet again, journalists, councils everywhere, and other scrooges are having a go at bashing Christmas!  There are those who wish to call Christmas a Winterfest or something similar.  To ban Christmas trees in public places for health and safety reasons and other interfering diktats.

In researching Christmas, I have found it has had a patchy history.  There is no mention of Jesus’ birthday in the New Testament.  The month and year of his birth being determined by a certain Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk in the sixth century.

The early Christian leaders attempted to convert many Pagans to christianity by promising them they could continue to observe the Roman festive period of Saturnalia. This  meant lots of drinking and giving of gifts lasting from the 17th to the 25th December.  This time also includes the Winter Solstice, the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere, celebrated by Pagans as also the rebirth of the sun.  The same early Christian leaders adding Christ’s birth day to that period.

It was Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop, who became famous in many countries for his generosity in handing out gifts to the poor, although even his existence cannot be verified.  It is generally accepted he is the figure we now think of as Santa Claus.

In 1931 the Coca Cola company, following an advertising campaign, gave us our modern perception of Santa Claus as a rosy-cheeked, white bearded character in a red suit.  For all its checkered history and attempts to change it, Christmas survives and in the hard economic times there has been a big uptake of people buying traditional, religious Christmas cards.

Christmas means for many, Christmas carols, giving and receiving presents, and getting together with family and friends.  So I hope you enjoy Christmas for what it is, and as poor tiny Tim observed “God bless us, everyone!”