Christmas ’tis the season to be jolly and show goodwill to all men...and women for that matter.

However, after going to the Christmas quiz at my local pub, it seems this may no longer be the case. It’s amazing to see how perfectly civilised human beings can be reduced to animal-style competitive behaviour at the mere sight of a multiple-choice, 20-question quiz sheet.

Even the local knitting group became hostile over the marking process, practically screaming at a poor man who mistakenly thought he’d got 15 points when in fact he had got 12.

By the end of the evening the initial merry laughter and Christmas spirit had been replaced by bitter quiz rivalry and competitive glares across the bar.

The events of the quiz got me thinking how, in some ways, Christmas is such a contradiction. It’s supposedly a time for family, friends and being kind and generous to each other. In reality, people are so stressed they end up scrapping their common courtesy like last year’s fad presents.

Shopping is probably the worst scenario (topping quizzes for the stress factor) where the strain of the festive period shows.

As the shopping days count down, the number of elbowing, shouting and huffing rises sharply. The image of a family sitting down to a turkey on Christmas Day could easily be swapped for a gaggle of tired, angry, frustrated shoppers, gift wrapped to within an inch of their sanity and fighting over the latest action hero doll as a typical portrayal of Christmas.

Shops even prepare their staff for potential abusive behaviour from customers over Christmas, which shop workers’ union USDAW has identified sees abuse against staff rise amid the tension in crowded, noisy and fluster-causing stores.

And, this year, shoppers have the added pressures of tighter finances too. With so many money worries, the added pressure of spending more money in the name of a perfect Christmas may not be a welcome one for many people.

Maybe one good thing about the ever-increasing financial crisis is that if we’re not buying as much, we may not be guilty of the biggest contradiction of all about Christmas; in striving to make everything perfect for our loved ones, we become more aggressive and tense, which goes against the whole point in the first place.

Instead of going back to basic animal instincts, like the knitters cursing their fellow quiz competitor over three points, perhaps this Christmas everyone can really get into the spirit of things, by showing courtesy to others. Maybe then there really will be peace on earth, or at least on the high street.