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VATICAN: The holiday festivities began on Friday, with hundreds of millions around the world under coronavirus restrictions celebrating a scaled-down version of a holiday typically marked by travel and large gatherings.
The battle to stop the pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.7 million lives, is far from over despite the launch of massive vaccine campaigns that offer the promise of an eventual return to normalcy.
Churches in South Korea were practically empty, with worshipers gathering online as the country reported a new daily case record.
“It really is heartbreaking to see,” said Park Jae-woo, a member of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, who would typically expect up to 10,000 worshipers, but was only able to host 15 staff and choir members on Friday.
And in the Philippines, services were rocked when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook the country, culminating a convulsive yuletide already silenced by bans on parties and carol singing.
Despite the warm weather, the usual picnic crowds also avoided the sands of Sydney’s Bondi Beach, while the waves were empty of surfers and police officers on patrol enforced physical distance rules.
Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica before fewer than 200 masked worshipers, mostly employees of the tiny state of Vatican City.
The mass, traditionally celebrated at midnight, was brought forward two hours before 7:30 pm (18:30 GMT) to comply with the curfew rules in Italy.
Before the pandemic, several thousand believers and tourists had obtained precious tickets to attend the papal mass.
On Thursday night, St. Peter’s Square, usually packed with people on Christmas Eve, was deserted, illuminated by the glow of its towering Christmas tree and the lights of a police car.
Tough new coronavirus restrictions were imposed on Thursday during the Christmas and New Year period in Italy, the country hardest hit by the virus in Europe, with nearly 71,000 deaths and more than 2 million cases since the start of the pandemic.
The Christmas Eve Mass commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem.
In his homily, the Argentine Pope stressed that the birth of a child reminds us that we should not spend our days “lamenting our luck, but calming the tears of those who suffer”, in the service of “the poor.”
Francisco, who has just turned 84, will address his eighth Christmas message “Urbi et orbi” (“To the city and the world”) on Friday on video from the Apostolic Palace, to prevent a crowd from gathering in the Plaza de San Peter.
Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, was preparing for a Christmas like no other in its recent history.
Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of the Nativity is traditionally the highlight of a Christmas season in which hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank.
The online mass this year, with only the clergy and select people allowed inside the basilica, which was sterilized the Thursday before the service.
“Everyone feels darkened, tired, exhausted, oppressed for too long under the heavy burden of this pandemic that besets our lives,” said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
In war-torn northeast Syria, hundreds of residents of a predominantly Christian neighborhood in the city of Qamishli shed face masks and donned Santa hats, tossing caution to the wind to celebrate a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Christmas.
“We were concerned that the celebrations would be canceled this year due to the new coronavirus, but as you can see, everyone is here celebrating and we are happy,” said Maria Danhou, a 36-year-old mother of two.
Germany has been forced to cancel its famous Christmas markets, while in Kuwait, churches were closed until January 10 despite being home to a large Christian community.
For many, the isolation that has defined last year will continue until Christmas Day and beyond, as in Belgium, where residents are largely limited to welcoming a single visitor.
Meanwhile, the British were isolated from parts of the world due to the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus.
Some UK border restrictions have been temporarily relaxed for the holidays, but thousands of other European countries are still stranded in England.
“Home for Christmas? Forget it, ”said Laurent Beghin, a French trucker who delivered his load but was still stuck days later.
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