Here we go again. The adverts have been on telly since September and the shop windows are stuffed with lights and trees and enticing presents. We can't escape it. Christmas time is here again.
Whatever we make of Christmas, however much we despair at the materialism of it all, it remains to be said that at least this country still celebrates what is a uniquely Christian festival. Its meaning may be covered up with tinsel and a false white beard, but at least it is one of the times in the year when the whole nation is taken up with something that, when unwrapped, has the gospel at its centre.