Why is our Christmas crackers?

As we approach Christmas, our minds turn again to images of a baby in a manger, an undisclosed number of Magi, sheep, shepherds and heavenly messengers, Jesus’ faith-filled mother Mary and his selfless father Joseph.

But is the season as simple and straightforward as it at first appears?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Jesus’ mother as ‘the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin’. It says: ‘When the course of her earthly life was finished, [she] was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things.’