THE Christmas lights are on in Worcester and throughout Worcestershire. We all have cause to be thankful that our councils have not gone the way of Oxford City Council, which has abandoned Christmas this year in favour of what it calls a winter light festival.

The decision, which was described by the council as “an attempt to make the celebrations more inclusive”, provoked outrage among shoppers in the city who called for a return to tradition.

The desire for celebrations to be more inclusive was certainly not one which was supported by representatives of other faiths.

Sabir Hussain Mirza, chairman of the Muslim Council of Oxford, said: “I am really upset about this.

Christians, Muslims and other religions all look forward to Christmas.”

Rabbi Eli Bracknell, who teaches at the Jewish educational centre in the city, said: “It is important to maintain a traditional British Christmas. Anything that waters down traditional culture and Christianity in the UK is not positive for the British identity.”

The fact is that there is not that much to celebrate about winter except dark and cold – a winter light festival is an artificial thing which hardly inspires a party spirit.

There is, on the other hand, a great deal to celebrate about Christmas. Christmas is about the love of God breaking into the cold and dark of the world. It is about meaning in life. It is about “peace on earth and goodwill towards men”, as the angels put it.

It is from all this that the spirit of Christmas derives and, whether you are a Christian or not, this spirit of Christmas can be a powerful incentive to think of others, to treat each other better and to consider especially the needs of the least well off in our society.

This latter happens in all sorts of ways, for example through the work of exemplary organisations like the Maggs Centre in Worcester, of which it is my privilege to be patron.

The Maggs Centre does sterling work among those who are homeless, isolated or lonely all year round and makes special provision to cheer the lives of homeless people around Christmas.

I hope that the spirit of Christmas will lead all of us to support it. Winter, no matter how many lights are associated with it, inspires no such goodwill and compassion. Long may Christmas lights shine in Worcestershire.