IN these modern times, the massive festival of Christmas comes under criticism on a regular basis, one reason, particularly in the current climate, being that it is a major Christian festival.

For reasons which are never totally clear, certain factions seem to enjoy attacking Christianity; predictably, such attacks often come from those with no real knowledge of the faith and its key role in civilised society, both past and present.

In contemplating the illogicality of such attacks, we must remember that the faith of more than 2,000 years has been under siege from its very beginning, but it is still surviving and thriving. Quite simply, the more it is attacked, the more resilient it becomes. After Christ founded His church, he was executed, a fate which has since befallen many of His followers and because of the Crucifixion, His universal church is now stronger than ever.

Indeed, when Christ founded His church, he charged St Peter with the task of running it in those famous words from Matthew 16, "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the powers of evil will not prevail against it."

St Peter went to Rome and the rest is history, with Peter himself being martyred under Nero around AD64. His body lies deep beneath the baldachino and altar of the Vatican. A baldachino is a canopy of fabric which is carried in processions and placed over the altar.

The assault on Christianity, in all its forms, is not confined to religious motives. One claim is that the season has become far too commercialised and that the build-up for sales begins far too early in the year. However, that is not quite the same as scurrilous attempts to either ban the festival completely, to change its name to something allegedly politically correct like Winterval or rename Christmas lights winter lights.

One aspect of Christmas which tends to be overlooked is that, in addition to celebrating the birth of Christ with religious fervour, the festival also celebrates the important secular role of His church in our western society. Without the influence of the church, many modern benefits would not exist - look at some nonChristian countries to see how they compare.

The secular benefits inspired by the church provide a better life for everyone and not only Christians. Consider the church's role in the foundation of universities, hospitals, medicine, the legal system, governments and schools. Think of smaller things we take for granted such as inns, flush toilets, art, music, publishing, holidays, festivals, brewing and the calendar. I am sure there are more. Can we say that such acceptable parts of our national fabric would have been instituted without the power and intellect of the early church leaders?

Examples of church influence in some of these institutions can still be seen. They include the academic dress of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities which is derived from the pre-Reformation dress of priests while the name of the terms at both university and the law are reminders of that connection. They are Hilary, Trinity, Easter and Michaelmas. Many of the robes worn by our High Court judges are modelled on the robes worn by priests too, their colours often being linked to saints' days while the role of Lord Chancellor, our highest judicial authority, was filled by a priest.

One of the finest acknowledgements of the impact of the church in our secular society comes from the writings of Lord Macaulay (1800-1859). In addition to being a politician (he helped draw up the Indian penal code), he was a poet, historian and essayist.

In 1850, he wrote an essay on The History of the Popes in which he wrote: "The Catholic Church is still sending forth to the farthest ends of the world missionaries as zealous as those who landed in Kent with Augustine? nor do we see any sign which indicates that the term of her long dominion is approaching. She saw the commencement of all governments and of all the ecclesiastical establishments that now exist in the world, and we feel no assurance that she is not destined to see the end of them all. She was great and respected before the Saxon set foot on Britain, before the Frank had passed the Rhine, when Grecian eloquence still flourished in Antioch, when idols were still worshipped in the temple of Mecca.

And she may still exist when some traveller stands on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St Paul's."

Surely the secular work of the church provides several good reasons why everyone, not just Christians, should celebrate the birth of the man who started it all.

Which means, of course, the celebrations should always be known as Christmas.