This hasn’t been a popular observation, and is still controversial. Rosie Duffield MP recently had to withdraw from a debate on the subject following the torrent of abuse she received for planning to contribute. The statistics are startling though and the consequences profound. In country after country there are insufficient babies being born to maintain the population, and this means shrinking or closing schools, increasing numbers who will never experience parenthood, and declining workforces (and tax base) to pay for the growing number of pensioners.

The reasons for this decline are complex and multifaceted but can be summed up in a single word: modernity. Everywhere, with the very notable exception of Africa, the impact of modernity is declining fertility.

At this time of year, more than any other, we focus on the baby. Christians know that without the coming of the baby we could not be saved. Christians welcome babies. We reject abortion because we believe a child in the womb is made in the image of God and we know that killing babies is wrong regardless of circumstances. We honour marriage and parenthood. We often have larger families than is ‘normal’.

At this time of year most British households have a tree in their house, that house is decorated and somewhere among those decorations, maybe on a Christmas card, is an image of a baby in a manger. These are all symbols of what belief in the baby produces: those who truly believe in Him plant trees, have babies, and build houses. Believing in the baby makes us especially receptive to other babies. It makes us optimistic rather than pessimistic about the fate of the world. It commits us to community. It commits us to commitment.

Welcoming the baby isn’t just Christmastime sentimentality. It changes the world.