Each year, as the ornaments and baubles are unearthed from the back of the cupboard, where they were carefully packed away, almost a year before, and we begin to prepare to decorate our homes for the festivities ahead, we are in fact taking part in a ritual that predates Christmas and has evolved from earlier pagan celebrations.

The birth of Jesus is celebrated by millions of people all over the world, with many of the rituals and traditions of the present day being rooted in customs that began thousands of years ago.