by Canon Eric Woods.

Some clergy hate Christmas. They condemn the commercialism of it, and they grumble darkly about the “once-a-year brigade” who only come to church during the Christmas season.
But I love it. I love the build-up to it, the growing festive atmosphere. I adore Christmas markets: all those little stalls selling beautiful craft work (and lots of glühwein!). The best we have ever visited were in Cologne, but the Winchester and Bath Christmas markets, back again this year, are great too. I enjoy thinking about presents – not lavish ones I can’t afford, but simple, creative ones which will bring real pleasure to their recipients. We enjoy seeing friends over the Christmas season, and although I am now officially “retired” I am looking forward to the services I will be taking on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But above all, I am always overwhelmed by the celebration of the real heart of Christmas, of the message of the angels and the coming of Christ into our world.

The key phrase is “when the time comes”. I think the mistake many people make is to celebrate Christmas from the start of November (or even earlier), and leave so little space in which to find joy on the day itself. Small wonder that many complain about the flat feeling (not to mention the fat feeling!) that descends sometime on Christmas afternoon. Small wonder, too, that tempers fray and relationships fracture more during the season of goodwill than at any other time of year.
The answer is not to join Scrooge and mutter “Christmas? Humbug!” The answer is to prepare yourself to enter into the real Spirit of Christmas. That’s what the Church’s season of Advent is all about: not celebrating too early, but rather “going in heart and mind even unto Bethlehem”.

Advent, the first day of the Christian year, is this Sunday. Which means it’s time to think about our relationships. Christmas is all about relationships. If Christmas is about God’s love for us, it must also be about our love for others. Yet time and time again I have met people who tell me how much they hate Christmas. Some have always associated it as children with domestic conflict, with violence in the home. And sadly, it’s true that there is more stress, tension, conflict and bitterness in the home at Christmas than at any other time. It is such a bitter irony that what should be above all a feast and festival of the family and of love is for so many a time of unhappiness, fear and pain. And even if our experiences are not as dramatic as that, our celebration of Christmas will always be hollow if we are civil to our neighbours and savage to our nearest and dearest. If there is bitterness or division within your family, if there is conflict and estrangement between you and someone close to you, then Advent is the time for healing, for putting things right. Go on – try it and see.