THIS week's Community Column is written by local minister the Rev Ian Miller.

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Unashamedly I love Christmas. I love the lead up to it, the cards cascading through the letter box, sometimes from folk I don’t see very often but whose lives have touched mine.

The special magic of a watchnight service, the carols, the flickering lights and the retelling of the Christmas story and of course the Nativity Plays.

One Christmas Mary number one took ill on the morning of the performance, Mary number two took cold feet and refused to perform and Mary number three was plucked from obscurity.

I vividly remember her stately progress down the aisle on top of a wooden donkey. I was mesmerised.

The donkey seemed to be moving of its own accord then I noticed in the corner the ‘janny’ pulling on string.

The string had been attached to the front of the donkey and then re-routed through an eyelet on the stage and thence to the invisible off stage ‘janny’. It was very effective.

I have watched angels picking their noses, shepherds fighting with their crooks like ninja warriors. Whatever the disaster or mishap, ‘the show must go on’.

A very prestigious church in America decided to do something different with fairly dramatic consequences. They brought in a real live donkey.

Mary looked quite regal, smiling enigmatically as she progressed down the long aisle.

This donkey, true to its character, just stopped and stubbornly refused to move. Office bearers moved in, they pushed and shoved with no result.

At that moment the organist decided to get in on the act and switch focus from the unexpected drama.

Pulling out every stop of the huge pipe organ he played the crashing opening note of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. This produced a result. The donkey got a fright.

Shovels and air fresheners were needed to restore some degree of normality.

Pregnant or not Mary shot off the donkey and the ordure behind and walked regally up the aisle and onto the chancel as if nothing had happened. A true pro!

Yes, I love Christmas.