Christmas: Archbishop of Wales urges positivity

The Most Rev John Davies says Christmas will be "more confined than we hoped"

People should "pull together and look to the light", the Archbishop of Wales has urged in his Christmas message.

The Most Rev John Davies said many were experiencing "a spiritual and emotional darkness, the personal darkness and anxiety of continuing change and chance."

He said the coronavirus pandemic was causing anxiety in many people

His Christmas message will be streamed live online from Brecon Cathedral on Christmas Day from 11:00 GMT.

Mr Davies said the news that Wales was entering lockdown "will have alarmed lots of us and, maybe, made us think that the light at the end of the tunnel, that we thought was there, isn't actually there at all".

"In 2020, we approach a very different Christmas season, one that is going to be more confined than we had hoped it might be," he added.

"It's important and good for us always to remember that, however dark the tunnel may be, there can always be light somewhere to look for, to hold onto, to grasp hold of and to shine."

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He urged positivity that would help bring peace, hope and light to others.

"The Christian message of Christmas - in fact it's the Christian message of the whole year, but particularly sensed at Christmas - is of light breaking into the darkness."

The archbishop previously appealed to the public to "think of others" during Wales' 17-day firebreak lockdown.