Christmas...

On my travels I see people who love Christmas - the turkey, the lights, the carols, the presents - but I see other people who don’t have a good word to say about it. The complaints they offer have a familiar ring. Christmas starts too early. It’s too commercialised. It doesn’t mean anything any more. It costs too much. Yet 99% of the complainants aren’t prepared to do anything about it. Shops have been displaying festive tat since late September, and Christmas will arrive on cue in every household. The commercialised aspects of Christmas are getting worse, year on year, not better, but even the grumpiest of people go along with it. Apparently, they would rather complain about Christmas than do anything to change the habits of a lifetime. So much for free will!

Just licensed: a quiet corner of Winchester, at twilight...