We all have our rituals to prepare for Christmas. For me it involves Alistair Sim.

Funny how it seems some people are born to do just one thing superbly. I know I’ve seen Sim in other roles, but for the life of me I can’t recall any of them offhand. But his role as the title character in Minter’s “Scrooge” is unforgettable; Sim is the Ebenezer Scrooge that all the rest of the pretenders are judged by. Only one (George C Scott) comes anywhere close to the energy, cantakerousness, and joy (at the end) that Sim embues his performance with. Aside from Scott, the only other Scrooge worth spending any time with is Jim Backus, in Mr Magoo’s Christmas. Once you’ve seen Sim, everyone else is simply a waste of time.

Today is the day we should all dance around the room, singing “I don’t know anything, I never did know anything, but now I know that I don’t know, all of a Christmas Morning.” Because we don’t. Know anything of real value, that is.

We don’t know why God chose the path He chose. He obviously knew what He was beginning back in Eden, where it would lead, and just what it would cost. And knowing all this, He still chose that path. My King chose to die for me. And from that decision flows everything else.

Such is the mystery, and such is the power, of Christmas.