Colm O'Regan: If we lift one small child up to put up the angel this year she’ll want it forever

Breath is bated. Breath is held. Centuries of disappointment are built into this moment.

Expectations set in the old days of fiddly bulbs are hard to shake. The plug is switched on at the wall. The Christmas lights come on! They work! Of course they should work. We paid for them and they should do what they said on the box they were going to do.