There is a Nativity tableau outside St Edmund’s Church in Abingdon. Lit up at night and visible during the day, it shows a traditional scene in a wooden stable: Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus in a manger, watched over by an angel, with shepherds, the three wise men, and animals, with a painted night sky and an enormous star.

The scene marks the birth Christians celebrate on 25 December, a date close to midwinter, in the Northern Hemisphere, when days are shortest and darkness strongest. Before Christianity, this time of year was already associated with looking for a turning point, the slow return of the light.

Around it sit other Christmas traditions: Father Christmas and presents, family gatherings, shared meals. Christian belief, older seasonal customs, commercial Christmas, and family life all come together at much the same time.

Merry Christmas, however you celebrate it.