The Crib of Greccio - Bringing Christ back into Christmas

By David Torkington -
A friend took me to a Christmas dinner at a local pub noted for its good food. It was also noted for something else too that nearly forced me  into a fight. I am referring to its seasonal cider punch, served hot with a sprinkling of spices. It was so moreish that you couldn't help having more and more of it. Two locals had already had too much of it before I had my first glass. By the time I had my second glass they were already fighting - but fortunately not with their fists. One said that Charles Dickens was more responsible for the way we celebrate Christmas today than anyone else. The other insisted that it was Prince Albert who introduced the Christmas tree with all its decorations. I don't drink much, in fact hardly at all, so two glasses of punch were enough to get me going, so I insisted that they were both wrong. 

Then I  started to hold forth on St Francis of Assisi and what he had done to bring Christ back, not just into Christmas, but into Christianity.  read on......

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