Christmas is one of the busiest times of year for a vicar.

There are carol services, special school events and housebound people to visit.

There are always services on Christmas Eve during the day and at midnight, and then a service on Christmas morning.

By the time I get to Christmas dinner I am usually exhausted.

But more people come to church at Christmas than at any other time of year.

For me that is a great opportunity to proclaim the best news ever, that God took on human flesh and became a baby born in Bethlehem.

That sounds like an incredible claim. But the man, Jesus, grew up to be a teacher with an air of authority that challenged people to listen to him.

St Peter's Church in Congleton (Credit: Nub News)

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When he died on a Roman cross his followers fled.

But thirty-six hours later they found his tomb empty, and he was seen alive again.

For me the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus are all part of my Christmas celebrations.

Receiving bread and wine on Christmas day to remember Jesus is what makes Christmas special for me.

In the words of Sir John Betjeman's poem, Christmas, nothing compares to the single truth 'that God was man in Palestine and lives today in bread and wine'.

To help make your Christmas special why not watch a Christian service on TV, or better still go to a local church and put 'Christ' at the centre of your Christmas.

Revd Ian Enticott - Rector of the Parish of All Saints Congleton

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