The bizarre chintz of “Halloween” and “Christmas” chocolates sitting beside each other on supermarket shelves in the middle of October is a sight which has become sadly familiar in recent years. In many ways it characterises the conundrum faced by Christians at this time of year; how to keep All Hallows’, Advent, and Christmastide holy in a secular society which has merged them into one gluttonous and materialistic three-month bacchanale, culminating in the orgy of New Year’s Eve and immediately tossed aside in the hangover of New Year’s Day.