thread I second what the German said
Well done Jiva.

Edit: When my kids were born the church mafia swung into action and made sure we had at least one hot meal cooked and delivered to us each day for around a month.

Our Egyptian neighbour told us they have the same thing, only it's when a couple get married because they don't leave the bedroom for long enough to cook.
permalink That's only relevant
if you don't believe in sex before marriage though...
permalink and can't order some take away,
but I cherish the sentiment.
permalink Not everyone can afford takeaway
so I understand that one a bit more.
permalink Yes.
Which is interesting in itself. Most people in the Uk say they're Christian but Christian values aren't really embedded in society.

That seems very different in Islamic countries. My non-Muslim Iranian friend is fasting for Ramadan because its so Islamic values are embedded into society to the point where someone continues to shun food and water during daylight when they're in the Uk and aren't Muslim.
permalink Yes the UK has been very secular for a long time
and I strongly suspect (although have no way to find out) that plenty of people who say they're Christian merely mean that they had RE lessons at school (which were basically only about Christianity when I was at school) and would get married in a church if they were forced to have a religious ceremony.

All the schools that I went to had a religious aspect to them but most state schools don't, and where else would you encounter religion unless your family were already into it?
permalink Remember that a lot of Islamic countries were far more liberal
50 years ago.. Iran in particular. And some, like the Emirates were essentially empty.

So there are a lot of uncomparables.