CHRISTMAS does not start at the office party, nor with the
traditional fight on EastEnders - it
starts with Christ. That is the message of this year's Christmas advertising campaign run by the ecumenical charity ChurchAds.net.
The campaign "Christmas Starts with Christ" is supported by the Church of England, the Methodist Church, and the Bible Society, among other groups.
It will run from 1 December - "Christmas Starts Sunday" - until Christmas Day.
Three different posters, each asking a different question, will be displayed in public places.
There are also three posters, in a style similar to the national ads, which can be displayed by individual churches, with slogans such as "Christmas starts with our Tuesday night soup kitchen".
The campaign will also produce materials such as Christmas cards, and an Advent calendar, for churches to use.
ChurchAds.net cited a number of surveys which it said suggested that "51 per cent of people now say that the birth of Jesus is irrelevant to their Christmas."
It wanted to "reverse this trend".
Posters published in previous years include "Bad hair day" (Christmas 1996), which continued: "You're a virgin, you've just given birth, and now three kings have shown up. Find out the happy ending at a church near you"; and a "Che Guevara" poster with the slogan "Meek. Mild. As if" (Easter 1999).
www.christmasstartswithchrist.com