FOR many, Christmas has ceased to be a celebration of Christ's birth - it has become a time of stress and anxiety.

Statistics from the money education charity Credit Action suggest that three in four Britons worry about money during the festive season. Many haven't even finished paying for last Christmas.

The British Retail Consortium says that the average family runs up 18 per cent of its annual borrowing in December, spending twice as much as in any other month.

So it's easy to see why some secular interests want to take Christ out of Christmas and replace a religious celebration with a consumer shopping spree.

You only have to watch the TV ads to see that the theme of Christmas today is spend, spend, spend! It could be called Stressmas!

Mel Griggs, Family Matters York, Grange Garth, York.