The Three Wise Men were lucky. Not just because they were the first outsiders to see the holy child, but because they did not have to press through crowds with all their gold, frankincense and myrrh. A star led them to the spot, right on time. But no star will be of help to the masses of visitors expected in Bethlehem during December, because the region has already welcomed more tourists this year than anytime recently. The wise men had the right idea when they went to see the baby: less violence has led to more tourism. The crowds for Christmas at the Church of the Nativity, where there is a queue even at normal times to see the grotto where Christ’s manger was supposed to have been located, are likely to be enormous. A star would be ineffective: it is technology to the rescue. An app is about to substitute the star, so that visitors can make advance reservations. That would make the flow of tourists manageable and smooth. Not this year though. Details of the app are still being worked out; it will apparently be ready next year.

Is it time for a technologically updated Santa Claus too? There is already something distinctly futuristic about his sleigh, rushing through the stratosphere, pulled by reindeer who have mastered the art of space travel without unwieldy paraphernalia, however red their noses. Santa’s time management is futuristic too, since he is down thousands of chimneys all at the same minute — unless he has successfully cloned himself many times over, of course. Even that is cutting-edge contemporary, spilling over into the future. But none of these hopeful features is likely to save the community Santa in Germany this year, because, ironically, contemporary problems such as the dearth of skilled labour and the disinterest of young people have left recruiting agencies without any cheerful Santa Clauses for shops and community centres. The few hours’ training for community Santas includes reminders not to smoke or use the smartphone while in costume — myopic: how much fun a Santa on WhatsApp would be — and to recite Christmas poems and sing Christmas songs when asked. Even a diplomatic nudging of children towards changes in behaviour requested by parents would be part of his task list, and payment for the evening would not be bad at all.

Is it age — his own, the children’s, the world’s — that is Santa’s foe? A survey shows that most children do not believe in him after the age of nine, but the real pain lies elsewhere. Quite a few of them lose some of their trust in their parents when the myth is busted. But neither the lack of Santas nor the loss of a childhood myth matters when there is love, which is what all the gift-giving is about. In Wales, a couple discovered that an 80-year-old neighbour, who had become fond of their two-and-a-half year old daughter, had, upon his death recently, left her a sackful of Christmas presents with one for each year till she reaches 16. There is nothing mythical about this Santa.