Every year I have an opinion about imperfect Christmas trees, premature decorations, too early celebrations. This year, unpredictably, tragically, everything has changed…

It has gone dark. Hospitals are running out of beds, cities are digging more graves, nursing homes are locked in, people are terrified, defiant, frustrated and desperately sad. When I heard Fairy Tale in New York playing on the radio, I didn’t feel outraged at the timing. In fact, I nearly cried.

Now, more than ever before, we’ve got to search for joy. And hope. I heard a lot of that last week when the American elections found their president and the whole of New York was exploding with celebration. I saw it when I noticed our overeager neighbours have put up their tree in the first week of November. Other years I would have objected, but not this time. We can’t have our extended families in for Christmas dinner but we can shine our lights for the whole street to see. We can’t meet for Christmas concerts, but we can open our windows and sing for the world to hear to ones online.

Christmas brought joy to the world thousands of years ago. We have the chance, with our gaudy decorations and overplayed Christmas tunes, to bring it again. To remember again that God saw our darkness and sent His light.

So go on, buy too many chocolate Santas, eat all the turkey, kiss the people you can, put all the tinsel you have on your tree, leave a gift on your neighbours’ doorstep and do your bit in pushing back against the darkness.

This year, it’s never too early to begin. (And I promise I won’t complain about it in next year’s post!)