Christmas, we are told, is a time for family. Deep in the British psyche at Christmas is the idea embodied by the Cratchit family in Dickens's A Christmas Carol, of a family united around a lovingly prepared feast.
Every October and November magazines tell us how to manage this crucial event - this magical meal: turkey without tears, your essential Christmas dinner countdown.
It has the status of the fairy on the top of the tree; it is a symbol of family happiness and togetherness, an idea we all subscribe to even when the reality is something else.
