Of Christmas, an Irish priest and a manger's sausage roll.

If I believed in such things as tattoos, and I don't, such an image as this one would be a strong candidate for body modification.

Thanks, B. I'm getting maximum mileage out of this one.

Meanwhile, back in Ireland ...

Irish Catholic priest urges Christians to abandon the word Christmas, by Pádraig Collins (The Guardian)

Father Desmond O’Donnell says the words Christmas and Easter have lost all sacred meaning

An Irish Catholic priest has called for Christians to stop using the word Christmas because it has been hijacked by “Santa and reindeer”.

Father Desmond O’Donnell said Christians of any denomination need to accept Christmas now has no sacred meaning.

O’Donnell’s comments follow calls from a rightwing pressure group for a boycott of Greggs bakery in the UK after the company replaced baby Jesus with a sausage roll in a nativity scene.

“We’ve lost Christmas, just like we lost Easter, and should abandon the word completely,” O’Donnell told the Belfast Telegraph.

“We need to let it go, it’s already been hijacked and we just need to recognise and accept that.”

They're not kidding about the sausage roll. I'm an atheist, but this one's just weird.

Is it acceptable to replace baby Jesus with a sausage roll for an advert? by Nicole Morley (Metro.co.uk)

A new advent calendar has been released by Greggs that has left people asking if it’s appropriate to replace Jesus with a sausage roll.

Of all things!

Throughout the calendar there are festive pictures such as sweet pastries hanging from a Christmas tree and a scene from the nativity.

The son of God is nowhere to be seen in the manger, instead there is a sausage roll surrounded by three wise men who we hope are called sausage, beans and cheese melt.