The true meaning of Christmas

Are you ready?: The big day approaches

- SUSAN LEE

Are you ready?: The big day approaches

SO. Are you ready yet? It’s funny, isn’t it - any other time of year, that phrase could apply to all sorts of things. Ready for winter? Ready for your holidays? For the Strictly final?

But here, with only a precious few days to go, it’s the well recognised British short hand about whether you've secured enough wrapping paper, bought a gift for Great Uncle Fred and remembered to order the meat.

It's the language of the festive season; an entire lingua franca around December 25th that has been developed over the years.

And just like any other language, it’s not always easy to decipher.

Take the language of love - roses and champagne and sweet nothings whispered into waiting ears. Get that one wrong and you risk a restraining order.