In modern times there is more muddle than ever. In his article opposite, John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, presents the Christmas which many yearn for, but have probably given up hope of ever finding.

In his childhood in Uganda, he writes, Christmas had an innocent simplicity which mirrored the great simplicity of the event it commemorates, when a mother gave birth to her child in circumstances of great deprivation. No midwife, no cradle, no material comforts – and only the beasts, brought into a barn because of the cold winter's night, to provide some warmth.

The mystery of Christ's birth gives way in the modern age to the mystery of how such a profoundly spiritual event has become focused on the gratification of pleasure and the satiation of material desires.

No sign of them in the tinsel-glinting supermarkets and department stores, or among the crowds of frantic shoppers; nor in the lyrics of the Christmassy pop songs blaring out of in-store speakers; and certainly not in the clubs and pubs where alcohol feeds the sense of seasonal bonhomie and later, when enough of it has been consumed, random street violence and drunken, casual sex.

At this time of year there is an exaggerated mood of desperation as the young folk trawl the city and town centres in the certainty that someone, somewhere, is having a really good time, and all they must do to share it is find the place and the people; it is seen also in the faces of the mothers and fathers who hope the avalanche of presents under which they will shortly bury their children will meet exacting expectations.

The Christian Church commandeered for its greatest holy day an ancient, pagan mid-winter festival marking the end of lengthening nights and the start of lengthening days.

The season demands a celebration, if only to drive away the gloom of the gloomiest month of the year. And as prosperity grows, so does people's ability to indulge themselves and those they love when "celebration" is at the top of their agenda.

The sad irony is that the level of genuine contentment and happiness remains rather low; for too many people, Christmas is positively the most depressing time of year.

Of course, Yorkshire's members must still give their backing to the arrangement this morning, but it is unthinkable that they will refuse to do so given the prize that is at last within their grasp: outright ownership of Headingley for the first time.

That this long-held dream is about to become reality is a tribute to the present management of the club, in particular theso-called Gang of Four, who rescued Yorkshire from imminent bankruptcy three years ago.

The arrival at Headingley of Robin Smith, Colin Graves, Brian Bouttell and Geoff Cope brought a much needed professionalism to the club's affairs. Even so, it was then impossible to imagine that, within a comparatively short period of time, Yorkshire would own Headingley and finally be able to tap into the lucrative income streams from advertising and catering.

The fact that the deal has been wrapped up by the deadline of December 31 means that those streams will be particularly deep, fed as they are by the continued presence of international fixtures at Headingley. With the England and Wales Cricket Board insisting that the ground was likely to lose its coveted Test status if Yorkshire did not take ownership by the end of the year, the stakes were particularly high, a fact that will have spurred on the fevered negotiations of the past few weeks.

For although a deal has been reached, and on time, it should not be forgotten that, even as the deadline approached, there were fears that the talks would founder. Indeed, only last week, council leader Mark Harris was insisting that a deal was "a long, long way" away.

It is important that Yorkshire remembers how near this cherished dream came to becoming a nightmare and realises the need not to waste this opportunity. The club will need all its commercial acumen to make the most of the new income that will become available and to ensure that the council's loan is repaid.

But as long as all at Headingley accept the need to stay on their toes, the future now looks more promising than for many years. With Test cricket attaining new popularity and Headingley set to benefit considerably from this, all that is needed now is for the Yorkshire team itself to develop the winning habit and to mount a real challenge for the County Championship. If that can be achieved, then 2006 really will be a year to remember at Headingley.

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