I thought the winter solstice was on December 21st? Don't quote me on this but I believe the First Ecumencal Council set the date for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ as December 25 (by the Julian calendar).

I have been looking up the carol "Pat a Pan" because I wanted to know the words. In doing so, I have found out that 'carols' were not originally songs. Carols were origianally medieval dances. Later, words were added to the tunes.

Pat a Pan, by the way, is not medieval. It was written about 1700 by a Burgundian and, therefor, was in French. That is why there are some many English versions and I'm not sure that any are accurtate tranlslations. But some of them sound pretty good.

What's wrong with athiests or Jews or Hindus singing Christmas carols? If they learn the Christian ones (as opposed to the secular ones), they may become Christians someday.

Mary, House Springs, USA

Zaphod of Cambridge, maybe our dna is similar because there are certain laws made by the Creator which come into play, enacting upon all created live creatures in the space-time continuum. But, as "they're none so blind as those who don't want to see", my prayer of faith is that you will perhaps one day understand and SEE that we are made in God's image. Don't wait until it's too late.
You're the one sitting in darkness!

Yank, Warrenton , Missouri

The Yank from Missouri sadly confuses the weight of evidence issue when ranting on about evolution. There is a huge weight of corroborating evidence that man shares a common ancestor with the apes. The fact that 90%+ of our DNA is shared with most mammals and 98%+ with Chimpanzees should be enough to convince most that it's true. Believing 'revealed truth' in 2000 year-old texts in preference to real understanding of how the world works can only come from those who were indoctrinated in youth. Christmas carols are just the tip of this particular iceberg - let's get religion out of our schools and ideally out of our societies. There is real truth to be discovered out there - but you won't find it in thoeology of any sort. Listen to this year's Chrismas lectures on the BBC, sit back and be enlightened. Merry Christmas!

Zaphod, Cambridge, UK

"but to adopt a conquered peoples' faith and change it is sociological evolution and political genius". Or, to be more objective, dishonest and sneaky. Not very Christ-like, but typically Christian.

Al, Weybridge, UQ

Think about the Christians who are forced to listen to the unbelieving teachers who are spouting their "beliefs" in the classrooms and in particular one belief about man descending from apes!
"The fool hath said in his heart that there is no God." Read the scriptures and throw out that spirit of unbelief before you wind up in hell with the unbelievers.

Yank, Warrenton , Missouri

"At Christmas, atheists are often damned if they do and damned if they don't."
Sorry to be pedantic but If you are an atheist you can't be damned. "Damnation" is just another one of those dreadful punishments dreamed up by the Christian religion to keep their flock in order.

Al, Weybridge, UQ

Everyone should sing and carols are what we sing at this time of year. The words can bring joy to the heart whether you believe in the Christian message or not. Furthermore, the origins of Carols are not necessarily rooted in Christianity, just as the timing of Christmas doubtless co-incides with some long-forgotten pagan festival. John Rutter has composed some of our most delightful recent carols, many with words explicit to the Christian faith and its Christmas message, and his attitude to Christianity is famously ambiguous! Christians shouldn't be so precious about carols - you never know when an atheist may see the light. After all, it's better to save one sinner . . . . . . . isn't it?
Unfortunately, despite a couple of decades of lusty carol singing, I am still a devout atheist. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW!

MadSkier, London, England

Atheists singing carols? Tch! They'll be hijacking Yule next!

AngieRS, Brighton, UK

TJ - -unfortunately your argument seems somewhat pointless.

I didn't hijack it, the the settled Roman forces of Europe did to appease the Celtic peoples and also assimilate their new found beliefs after their experience with Mithras. Which I'm sure you will agree is a canny ruse.

I am concious that Christ (according to theorists) was supposed to have been born around March but to adopt a conquered peoples' faith and change it is sociological evolution and political genius.

The fact remains however that a festival did exist on 25 of December back in the 'olden' days and so some sort of religious belief MUST have existed to celebrate the winter solstice. Yes it was a Pagan festival, not Christian but Pagans hardly fit into the category of atheism.

If you want to song Christmas carols in march - please, be my guest!

Barney, Liverpool, UK

David Aaronovitch should check his facts before suggesting that Mrs Alexander had supplemented the scriptures. As some one who knew and understood her Bible very well she was spot on with her lyrics. The final verse of "Once in Royal David's city" picks up imagery from Revelation chapter 7. Here John, in his vision of heaven, sees a great multitude wearing white robes. One of the elders then explains to John that "these are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." So this is a vision of those who while on Earth have trusted the Lord Jesus as their saviour and have had their sins forgiven thorugh Jesus sacrifical death. They therefore now wear white robes as they praise their saviour in heaven. So the colour is hugely significant and Mrs Alexander certainly did not make it up.

Charles Farrar-Bell, London, UK

At Christmas, atheists are often damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they participate they're hypocrites ("How can you sing carols when it's not in your heart?"), but if they don't they're extremists ("It's just a song").

Peter Joyce, Nelson, New Zealand

For Barney, Liverpool, UK
The cult to which I belong (Old Al's Universal Church) celebrates the miracle of the "return of the sun" every morning. Presumably it would be OK with you if we took every day off?

Al, Weybridge, UQ

Libby Purves seems like an intolerant dolt.

Here's a question: should atheists be allowed to perform in Handel's Messiah or Bach's Xmas Oratorio? Seems if you leave out the atheists you may be short a few musicians here and there. How about the Jews who play in orchestras? They don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Should they be forbidden from playing in the orchestra and singing in a choir as well?

Here's another question for Ms Purves - what's a decent Christian like her to do when the religious work being performed was itself written by an atheist? Should we ban performances of Brahms' and Verdi's Requiems because the composers weren't believers in the Christian god? Perhaps Ms Purves believes that the annoying strains of Christian Rock trump the works of Verdi and Brahms when it comes to revealing things spiritual.

Oh, well. It's about what one can expect from a person who presumes that she can go head to head with the mind of Richard Dawkins.

Mr Mark, Los Angeles, USA/California

For Libby Purves to write “How insulting to those who mean every word of it?” just indicates to me the innate intolerance of many of the religious, and their ever present ability to seek and find offence just about everywhere.
Let's all celebrate the Winter Solstice with an uplifting sing-song!

paul newbold, sheffield, uk

Er, sorry Barney in Liverpool, but you Christians actually pinched the Winter Solstice festivals when you decided to choose December the 25th as the birthday of Jesus. The festival had existed for thousands of years before you lot hijacked it - so stop lecturing us all on the real meaning of Christmas - we are not celebrating the same thing. I'll not bother you if you don't bother me.

TJ, newnham, uk

If Libby Purves thinks it's wrong for Dawkins to enjoy carols, then will she also be telling off Christians who enjoy the music of the atheist Delius?

Or are Christians who enjoy Delius really doing it to insult atheists?

What a petty, small-minded and neurotic little world Ms Purves lives in

Alistair, Edinburgh, Scotland

Atheists should be able to sing hymns - definitely. It shows appreciation of some of the most beautiful music in the world. It's like saying someone shouldn't be allowed to enjoy the music of John Lennon or Bob Dylan because they don't like their politics.

One thing atheists shouldn't be allowed to enjoy is the time off work that is given to celebrate the birth of Christ and other religious festivals. Muslims are allowed additional time off on Fridays, Jews - Saturdays, so Christians should allowed the relevant time off to enjoy celebrating the life of Jesus Christ. if the 25th December, Good Friday and Easter Sunday/Monday are just 'normal' days , THEN GO TO WORK!

I've got plenty of mates who refuse to believe in God but will happily accept presents and enjoy the revelry associated with Christmas and it seems very hippocritical. Incidentally 'hippocracy' is often a reason sited as to why they choose to not believe in God or religions!

Barney, Liverpool, UK

As the man said, "I count religion as but a childish toy and hold there is no sin but ignorance". Simple, really.

Al, Weybridge, UQ

I am not religious, but I refuse to ditch the tradition of singing and playing Christmas carols just for that reason. If you accept from the past only the things you can believe in you are a very poor person indeed. In my opinion, Christmas carols have more to do with living humans, their emotions and desires, than with God or Christ (whether you believe in them or not)

Hein Maassen, Leidschendam, The Netherlands

I am writing to correct David Aaronovitch, who accuses the author of Once in royal David's City of 'supplementing the scriptures' in the line "When like stars His children crowned/All in white shall wait around". I was amazed that such a seemingly well educated journalist is unaware of the many places in the Bible in which the redeemed in heaven are described as wearing white (eg. Revelation 7.9) I was also shocked that Mr. Aaronovitch didn't think of checking this out before submitting his article. I recommend the Bible to him - its a fantastic read.

Chloe Light, Biblical Studies Graduate, Norwich, Norfolk

Thank you David.

Kidd Garrett, Bristol, UK

I am a recent convert to atheism after most of my life as an orthodox agnostic Jew. If that appears to make little sense, suffice to say that when I got married I felt uncomfortable at the prospect of doing so in a reform or liberal synagogue.

We used to have very good friends in Guelph Ontario who were practising Christians and on one occasion we stayed with them over Christmas and joined them at midnight mass. For all that I did not share the experience in its entirety, I found it very uplifting in a way other religious music seems to lack. You need not be a believer to have a spiritual dimension and if you do not understand that I suggest you study ethics formally as I did at university, Aristotle and many others.

On Tuesday my mother had a Christmas party in the flats for senior citizens where she lives. The local vicar came along with his troupe to sing carols. They do so every year knowing that half the residents are Jewish. Why not? We should accept one another on equal terms.

Stephen Felce, Enfield, UK

In my humble opinion, as a practicing christian and priest, i have to say that you misunderstand the nature of believing as propositional rather than relational. To me, faith is an I-Thou encounter, and singing carols/hymns, or celebrating the eucharist or whatever the ritual medium is, means experiencing God. I take doctrine and the Bible to be reliable and tried and tested means of grace without any need to go down the road of infallibility. That would be to miss the point.

It's great that, to echo Churchill, people feel they can be 'flying buttresses' rather than pillars of the church. But staying outside looking in, wistfully or otherwise, is to me rather like discussing the merits or integrity of a menu but never enjoying the meal. Faith feeds me or it is just nice empty words.

David Grieve, Cockfield, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham