Greg Lake’s 1973 song , “They said there would be snow at Christmas” has now received the ultimate accolade, in getting a choral setting and being played on Classic FM along with assorted carols. It has thoughtful words, as it charts the experience of the writer as he discovers how much of the Christmas is an illusion; he had rain at Christmas not snow, he saw through the disguise of Father Christmas and he dismisses as a fairy story his belief in “Israelite”. The final verse is more positive;

“I wish you a hopeful Christmas

I wish you a brave new year

All anguish, pain and sadness

Leave your heart and let your road be clear”

However, the last two lines end on what he would see as a final attempt at honesty:

“Hallelujah, Noel be it heaven or hell
The Christmas we get we deserve”

I wish that you have found hope over the last week of Christmas and that will allow you to be brave in the coming year. But, as a believer in the Israelite, I take issue with these final two lines. We do not get the Christmas we deserve, we are offered hope because Christmas is a gift, given to us regardless of what we do, think or act.