YES...Katie Catling, general manager at Creation Theatre Company

Yes, Christmas is a time for families.

I love Christmas. I love the lights, the smells, decorations, singing carols, eating food that at any other time of the year you wouldn’t even contemplate.

I love the bite in the air and the cosy feeling when you first step in the door to be greeted with the sight of a sparkling Christmas tree.

I was raised in a Christian household (my father is a vicar) and yes, we were taught the true meaning of Christmas but that truth is so much more than a kid in a manger in Bethlehem.

The Christmas story is beautiful and for Christians it marks the coming of Christ and the beginning of Christianity but for non-Christians the meaning behind the story is just as valid.

It is about hope and new beginnings and about family and friends, about taking the time to think about others.

It is about the unity of different races and religions.

It is about getting together with all those people who you think about every day but never have the time to see in the rush that is the rest of the year. It is having a chance just to stop and be.

Christmas is a point of brightness in mid-winter where we can celebrate together the coming of a new year, longer days and warmer weather.

We need this light in what can otherwise be a long, and lonely, season.

This to me is essentially what Christmas is about – the triumph of light over dark. This is not a triumph confined to Christianity but one for all humanity.

NO...Sarah Mayhew, artist and freelance cultural PR and promotions consultant

At the risk of sounding bah-humbug, I am not a great fan of Christmas.

I think it can be a wonderful time for families when they get it right, but it appears more commonly to be an incredibly stressful time.

It strikes me as a terrible shame that consumerism grips the UK at this time of year, destroying what could otherwise be a really special time of year when people are encouraged to take stock, take a little bit of time out, and think about their friends and family.

Instead so many young (and many old) minds are washed with imposed desires for high-value gifts, and anti-social electronic equipment.

People so frequently live beyond their means desperately trying to sate the appetite of those around them.

Regardless of whether one is religious or not the notion of “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” is a resounding one.

However, with an increasing number of families separated emotionally and/or geographically, it so easy to find oneself torn between loved ones desperately snatching at precious time.

Lacking any one element of the golden triangle (God, peace, or good will), Christmas can so easily turn ugly.

All I want to do come December 24 is turn on my heels and head for the Outer Hebrides, where I would happily pass the Christmas period walking with my partner, thawing out by open fires.