DESPITE the relentless commercialisation of the Christmas season, it is encouraging to note that the nation has not lost touch completely with what Tuesday's celebration is all about.

Separate surveys have shown that more of us will attend some form of carol service this year and that attendance at our great cathedrals is also on the increase.

This does not necessarily mean that faith is alive and well. Many so-called carol services not held in churches have only a passing resemblance or reference to an act of religious devotion. But they do represent a link to the Christmas tradition which has nothing to do with money and is about care and compassion.

The churches should cherish and nurture this re-discovery of the traditions of Christmas. Some clergy are known to be somewhat irritated by the "Christmas Christians" who turn up for midnight mass, sometimes a little the worse for wear, but then are never seen again for another year. That iritation is understandable but not tenable. Churches should be, and for the most part are, truly inclusive.

And churches should see this new-found enthusiasm for Christmas church-going as an ideal marketing opportunity for the year-round service(s) they offer, reminding the occasional churchgoers that the magic associated with Christmas is repeated at other times during the year, at Easter and Harvest thanksgiving for example. What's wrong with the hard sell when you have a captive audience?

This might seem rather un-Christian, but churches should not be afraid of using the atmosphere they create at special times in the year to draw folk to them. A real appreciation of faith may even follow.