A particularly fond memory shared by countless thousands of Goldstone regulars were the Christmas and New Year matches.

When the fixtures came out one of the first checks involved where Albion were at Christmas and Easter and diaries marked accordingly and often in red ink.

Forty-odd years ago the dates included Christmas morning and when that dropped out of the lists many felt a real sense of loss. It was different for the players, of course, real consideration had been given to them, the principals in the production, for the first time.

A Christmas Day match got you out of the house, leaving the hustle and bustle to " 'er indoors " and then coming home when all the hard work was done. And, while the kids enjoyed their new toys, what better than a short toddle seeking the unfettered pleasures of the Goldstone?

It was the accepted thing to sport a present or two, possibly gloves, perhaps a scarf or maybe a tie plus a decent cigar to puff with a hip flask to fortify the inner man.

In the present enlightened times that attitude would quickly be branded male chauvinist, but as older brethren will vouchsafe, that used to be the accepted form of male enjoyment for football fans all over the country. It was tradition.

Part of the pleasurable routine for locals was walking to the ground in animated groups, and, once inside, indulging in all the banter associated with the festive season. Some liked to don items of fancy dress including Father Christmas headgear. It all added to the occasion of going to the match.

The Goldstone was also the scene of an impromptu carol concert. For once the referee tended to be let off lightly although there were changes of mood from Peace on Earth to, who is the b***** in the black? Generally, the Oh Come All Ye Faithful theme predominated in an atmosphere of coloured balloons and, more recently, liberations of celery.

For the players, however, Christmas was anything but a holiday. Even if there was no game on the 25th, they were required to train prior to Boxing Day so it was go steady on the Christmas pud for the true professionals and the risk of being caught out over-indulging when failing to last the pace.

Brighton last played on Christmas morning in 1957-58, their promotion season when securing a point at Swindon (2-2) after being two down at half time. Albert Mundy and Dave Sexton were the poachers when 12,000 stalwarts shivered.

Next day nearly twice that number were at the Goldstone to applaud Dennis Gordon's winner that kept Albion top of the table.

Surely the happiest Albion player at Christmas was Alex Law, the Scot who joined the club from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 1935. He scored a hat-trick on Christmas morning in the 3-0 win at Bristol City and bagged two goals in the 3-2 Boxing Day return. Law finished his first season as top scorer with 27 goals in 39 outings and his total 40 in 74 games stands comparison with Albion's finest.

Christmas was an opportunity for directors to dispense a touch of largesse. Nothing less was expected as it used to be the thing at Brighton for each player to receive a chicken before the days of oven-ready birds.

A few days before Christmas the Goldstone office would be suitably decorated and secretary Alan Leather liked to don a paper hat. It felt like an extended family with kindly directors Tom Whiting and Len Stringer joining in the fun.

Christmas at Brighton was not always light hearted. The morning match of the 1946-47 season cast a pall when Albion were dumped 6-1 by Exeter. Next season Albion went up to Port Vale and were thumped 5-0.

There cannot be many, if any, active supporters around who recall the Twenties when Albion went berserk at Christmas 1922-23 winning 7-1 at home to Pompey. Two goals each for Tommy Cook and Eddie Fisher, one from Jimmy Jones and the reliable penalty from Wally Little sent the 15,000 throng home happy. And that was only half of the holiday story as Andy Neil and Wally Little settled Pompey's hash at Fratton.

Another Christmas double brightened the 1924-25 campaign with a 2-1 win at Bristol Rovers (Bob Dennison 2) and Little's penalty deciding the return. The previous year, when Luton arrived, the crowd battered down the fences in Goldstone Lane to gain entry and the 15,500 gate was well below the actual number in the ground to see Albion win 4-0.

In the matter of team selection there has been the odd hiccup, notably in 1962-63 when George Curtis first had charge of the side. He hadn't long signed Allan Jackson from Bury and was unaware that the new arrival had strong religious principles. Staunch Methodist Jackson did not play in Christmas matches and failed to turn up from his Bury home for the game at Bristol City.

Curtis tried to cover his embarrassment saying that Jackson had missed a rail connection. The postscript to what threatened to be a bleak Christmas was Albion winning 2-1 with goals from Peter Donnelly and Johnny Goodchild.

The most famous Christmas match for Albion was the 1958-59 bonanza when a record 36,747 saw the 3-0 defeat of promotion favourites Fulham. Tommy Dixon (2) and Adrian Thorne put the spring in the step that day which followed a 3-1 defeat at the Cottage.

Although the Goldstone was bursting at the seams nobody complained.

Young and old flocked to see what was then a star-studded Fulham with Johnny Haynes and George Cohen heading the England internationals. No wonder the gate receipts were close on £25,000 - big, big money in those days.

Albion wins at Leeds can be counted on one hand, or more accurately, one finger. In 1985-86 Chris Cattlin's side went from a 2-1 Boxing Day success over Pompey (Dean Saunders, Terry Connor) to Elland Road where Connor was again on target. An own goal and a later winner from Graham Pearce sent Albion to fifth after plundering hitherto uncharted territory.

Boxing Day victories over Crystal Palace home and away tasted all the sweeter in 1979-80 and 1983-84. In that initial season of the First Division, Albion followed-up by whipping Manchester City 4-1. Palace caught it in the neck again in 1980-81 and 24 hours after John Gregory despatched Leicester with the only goal.

Albion strung three wins on the trot together having outscored Aston Villa who went on to the championship. In the final analysis that season Albion just avoided the drop but nobody harboured such doubts, least of all Alan Mullery who, the following summer, had had enough of the board room shenanigans and walked out.

When he returned for an ill-fated second spell the old magic had gone.

Even Christmas was a low-key affair losing at Palace. The day after Boxing Day Albion allowed juniors and senior citizens in free and Reading were sent home pointless. But the atmosphere wasn't the same; Albion football had moved into a new age and a lot of the Yuletide spirit was missing on the terraces.

But there is not the slightest reason why, given recent form, Albion should not enter the New Year on a high note with promise of the best to come.