Sunday is the target day for a regular Crotchety blog post. This year, though, the fourth Sunday in December falls on Christmas Day, and I will have other things on my mind. Quite apart from the present giving and the usual festive meal with the family, there is also a funeral on the near horizon. Crotchety Man Senior passed away last month, and his family will say their last goodbyes on Wednesday, 28th December.

With that in mind, I’m going to re-visit Greg Lake’s I Believe In Father Christmas, first featured here in 2016. The video in that old post is no longer available, but this one should be more resilient to the cyberwinds of change because it comes from the copyright holder.

It will be a sad day, of course, on Wednesday, but the celebrant we appointed has put together a wonderfully moving text for the ceremony. It is the one Christmas present that I really wanted this year. Santa, or one of his assistants, must have been watching me and taking notes.

I do not believe in God but, like Greg Lake, I still believe in the joyous spirit of Christmas. So, whether you are celebrating a religious festival or a pagan feast, I wish you great tidings of comfort and joy.