I can’t help it, call me soppy or simple, but I can’t help but get a lump in my throat when I hear Silent Night whether it’s at midnight Mass or in a commercial carols by candlelight event sponsored by some huge corporation.

For a start, the words are so beautiful and the sentiments divine but I have a particular reason for feeling so sentimental, nostalgic or touched by the words and music – I was born on Christmas Day.