Stephen Hough is a concert pianist by night, but his daytime interests include theology, art, hats, puddings... and writing about them. His website is www.stephenhough.com and he is @houghhough on Twitter. Does it have to be cold at Christmas? We are told by scholars that Christ was probably born in September, so it would not have been that cold in Bethlehem, in the cave, in the manger, amongst the oxen and asses. The feast was moved closer to the Winter Solstice as a way to incorporate existing religious practice from pre-Christian culture and as a happy metaphor for Light coming into the world. Each day after Christmas gets a little longer. By the time the Victorians got hold of it the connection between deepest winter and Christmas was firmly set in the imagination. I was in Singapore last month and as people walked along Orchard Road in T-shirts and shorts, bathed in sweat, the beautiful blue and white Christmas lights were an evocation of snow and ice. They looked 'refreshing' as my companion in the car commented. Indeed: and they looked 'authentic'. But the powerful symbolism of a cold Christmas is more than the visual whiteness of snow and ice ('In the bleak Mid Winter'); it touches what the cold does to us. Frigid temperatures force us indoors, huddled next to fires, hands cupped around hot mugs of reviving liquids. They make the hugs we give to friends body- as well as heart-warming. They make the carols we sing outdoors