On Radio 4's A Point of View, Howard Jacobson recalled a primary school essay about Christmas. It meant, he said, "seeing my father dressed as Santa Claus, getting stuck coming down the chimney".

The teacher thought he'd made it up. "'Isn't your family, er…' she said. 'Yes,' I replied. 'We are, er… But my father likes dressing up.'

"I didn't, however, want her to think we had abandoned our faith. 'The reason he got stuck,' I explained, 'was that he was carrying a Chanucah candelabra.'"

Shouldn't that be candelabrum, the teacher asked, assuming he had only one.

"'Actually, he was carrying three,' I said. Before adding, 'and the right word is menorah.'"