Fairy Lights

Why are lights that flash off and on and off in random epilepsy inducing sequences, called fairy lights?
Who ever saw a fairy using lights? Come to that who ever saw a fairy?
Angels - I can vouch for there being angels, but fairies?
Warmest greetings? Not sure what they are. I had mulled berry non alcoholic punch the other day, it was tepid and horrible and we gave it out to a lot of unsuspecting festive revelers. Maybe that was a warmest greeting - if so you can keep it.
Is it just when you get older that you become disappointed in things because they don't live up to your expectations or memories? One thing that lives up to both my expectations and memories, is the Christmas story.  I have warmest memories about my first part in a Christmas play when I was six. I had the inauspicious line "Come children." I delivered it in my best Manchester accent. I was in Lewisham, South East London at the time and it brought the house down.
The first Christmas brought joy to shepherds and angels and wise men and people of the royal line who had almost forgotten their genealogy.
This Chirstmas brings joy to me. Because Jesus came, I have rediscovered my royal lineage. I was designed to be the child of a king, a child of God, and I have discovered that I feature on the royal roll call because Jesus came to earth and died to forgive me of the things that might have had me crossed off the list.
There were no flashing lights and no particular warm feelings inside. I believed in Jesus. I said I was sorry for my sin, I found God and I discovered life. I recommend the truth of the Christmas story for lighting up your Christmas.

Christmas Nibbles.

Have you ever had Christmas nibbles? Have you ever nibbled them?
Why are things that you can always eat several of in one mouthful called nibbles?
You can nibble a very large biscuit or a big block of cheese, but you can't actually nibble a nibble because there isn't enough of it to hold between your finger and thumb and gnaw at with your teeth, which is what I think nibbling is, i.e "To bite at gently and repeatedly"

If you nibble a nibble you will bite your fingers. If you have ever accidentally bitten your fingers you will know how much force you exert in a simple nibble.

I think people maybe do nibble at Christmas though. They don't want to really get their teeth into Christmas because that would mean exploring whether Jesus was actually the Son of God, actually born to a woman who had never had sex, truly born to rescue a world with no hope of eternal happiness,  really born to be the Saviour of a world that includes them. For most people that would be biting off more than they could chew.

And yet that's what Christmas is, a celebration of something that you can digest and live off.

Let me ask you to stop nibbling at Christmas. It might seem hard to swallow but once you've tasted it, once you've realised that it is true, it's the most wonderful feast.