The annual “Christmas Market” arrived in town this evening. The main route through town was closed off to all traffic, and the road filled with stalls serving hot chocolate, mulled wine, beer, and just about every popular street food imaginable.
After both myself and my better half ended up working late, we were not going to bother going in – but when we realised our eldest daughter had been looking forward to it, so pulled our coats on, wrapped up warm, and set out.
Do you ever have those days when you don’t want to do something, and you end up doing it despite yourself, and then realise you really enjoyed it? Tonight was a bit like that. We didn’t buy much – but that wasn’t really the point. The lights, the sounds, and the smells made us realise that Christmas is nearly here, and that’s no bad thing.
I guess these days I see Christmas as a good excuse to see friends, to spend time together, and to not chase my tail quite so much.
On the subject of Christmas – it’s been interesting reading the news here this week – about the most recent census statistics showing that less than half of the UK population now identify as Christian. In recent decades the number of people reporting “no religion” has increased dramatically, and now the various mouth-pieces of the major religions are pontificating (pun intended) about how they might turn the trend around. I suspect they might be chasing a lost cause – surely the more education improves, and the more access people have to a broad spectrum of information (read: the internet), the less people will believe what they are told to?
Anyway.
It’s getting late. Time to go collapse into bed, read a book for a bit, and make the final lurch towards the weekend.
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