"But we do sense the more difficult truth: that Family represents the reality of which Christmas is the dream. It is of course Family (messy, complex, miserable, happy, so many gradations of those last two words) which is the real gift, beneath the wrapping. Family is the daily miracle, and Christmas is the enforcement of ideals which, in truth, do not matter. It would be tempting therefore to say 'Well, then ditch Christmas!' the same way people say 'Ditch God' or 'Ditch marriage,' but people find it hard to do these things because they feel that there is more than a ghost in these machines, there is an animating spirit."