Christmas Rituals

If you still believe in Father Christmas and you don't want to know the score; look away now.

I returned from midnight mass on Christmas morning at 01:00, and was faced with what has now become an anual ritual - the impersonation of Father Christmas. We follow the tradition of leaving out a drink and a snack for the big man and his reindeer, and it is my duty on returning from church to consume the said items before proceeding to the filling of the stockings. The particular delicacies that Father Christmas enjoys at our house are a glass of port and a mince pie. In the morning the believers in the household (there are 2 true believers and one who knows the truth but perfers the fantasy) will have a little more evidence to support their belief in the magical man who brings them presents each year.

This year it occured to me that I take part in two rituals in the small hours of Christmas day - each involving the consumption of a round piece of food and a drink made from grape juice. First of all I take communion - a circular wafer of what passes for "bread" in the Church of England and a sip of what passes for "wine". I then come home and consume a mince pie and a glass of port. Each of these actions is a ritual which has no real purpose apart from it's meaning. And though the rituals may look very similar, the meanings are quite different.

Communion is the taking of the body and blood of Jesus Christ himself into my own body, so that the one God who created the universe, the world and all that exists is not just a spiritual idea or thought, but is actually, physically experienced.

The second ritual is a game we play for the children. It entertains them and we are delighted by their delight. Some cynics often call it a lie or a deception, but I think that it is no more than a game. They will know the truth about Father Christmas one day, and I doubt they will be sorry that we played this game with them.