Festively feckless

Every year it happens.  On the last Sunday evening before Christmas I stand there before a packed church, looking out at the expectant faces reflected in the candles’ glow. There are young and old, stranger and friend, neighbours and cousins and work colleagues and everyone in between. As I stand to welcome them, I draw a breath , and find myself incapable of formulating the triplet of words for which I am searching : ‘carols by candlelight’. Over the years it has come out as:

• Carols by carol-light
• Candles by carol-light
• Carols by carol-light
• Candles by candlelight
• Our carol-lit service

This year it has been made even worse by the launch of Amazon’s ‘Carols by Kindle-light’ to further mess with my head.

The graphic below is made up of the phrase ‘carols by candlelight’ in 20 languages. May it lighten the darkness of my fellow-sufferers.