OK, so what did Christmas, or Yuletide as we call it in this house, ever have to do with the Carpenter?

We've used the same decorations and lights for years. Every scrap of food we buy gets eaten. We buy presents for the kids, the grandkids and each other. We have a family feast, maybe two, and treat ourselves to a few favourites (mince pies and clotted cream with brandy) that you don't get at other times of the year.

It's not about stopping people having a blow-out once a year. It's about getting shut of fossil fuels (wind, solar and above all nuclear energy will provide all we need), banning the infernal combustion engine, taking heavy freight off the roads and putting it back on the railways and canals where it belongs.

As for the Yule - better to buy a few presents than sacrifice someone. Better a few baubles on the tree than a few severed heads! Because if we don't sacrifce and feast, the sun won't come back!

A ball of flaming gas will lift over the horizon instead.