Young Joshua will be roughly 14 weeks old on Christmas day. And so he will not know or care what is going on as long as he is fed and has his nappy changed and stays warm. So I could give him all the tea in China or absolutely nothing and it would really make no impact at all on him. As it happens various caring grandparents and others have already ensured that he has been swamped with clothes and presents for which we are grateful.
No doubt in a couple of years Joshua will, like nearly every other kid in Britain, be caught up in the consumerist and materialist spendfest that is Christmas these days. His mother and I both hope that he will appreciate the real meaning of Christmas, that it is not Winterfest that it is about the birth of Jesus and that sort of thing. But in Britain today I know we are battling against a strong tide.
Apparently some watchdog has just ruled that it is acceptable for Company's to have Christmas parties and say "Happy Christmas" without fearing of being accused of committing a hate crime against staff who are of another faith. That such a statement has to be made shows what a godless mess this country has become.
You may well say that Oakley, our morbidly obese three legged cat, probably also does not understand the true meaning of Christmas, yet he will be given a present by the Mrs and I. fair cop. We are sentimental fools when it comes to the cat. On Joshua we will take a firmer line. Are we missing something and likely to be reported to social services for this?.