Preparation is crucial to celebrating Christmas well. But so often the kind of preparation most people mean only really adds pressure, and pressure is the last thing any of us needs at this time of year. Part of this is also caused by unreasonable expectations: there’s nothing worse than buying a Christmas cookery book to add a little something to the festive table, only to be told to begin remote preparations somewhere around the Assumption.
But just as preparation is important for this glorious and ongoing feast, so is proper celebration. There is nothing more depressing than walking along the road on New Year’s Day and seeing forlorn fir trees, reduced to denuded twigs because they’ve been next to a radiator since November. Just as preparation is important, so proper celebration is vital too.
