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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has praised people for “magnificently meeting the challenges of the year” during her annual Christmas Day message.
In his address to the nation on Friday, he described how people of all faiths were unable to celebrate festivals, such as Easter, Passover, Eid, and Vaisakhi, in their usual way due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But she added that the spirit of the people had “moved” her in the face of adversity.
“Surprisingly, a year that has necessarily separated people has brought us closer, in many ways,” he said. “Across the Commonwealth, my family and I have been inspired by the stories of people volunteering in their communities, helping those in need.
“In the UK and around the world, people have met the challenges of the year magnificently, and I am very proud and moved by this calm and indomitable spirit. To our young people in particular, I thank them for the role they have played ”.
“Today our front-line services still shine that lamp on us, backed by the amazing achievements of modern science, and we owe them a debt of gratitude,” he added.
This is how different countries are celebrating the holidays:
In the Palestinian city of Belen people celebrated Christmas Eve and only a small number attended traditional events. But city leaders said they were determined to send a message of hope.
“There are restrictions on the movement of people and on social media, but it is Christmas, Christmas gives people hope for better times,” said Mayor Anton Salman, standing next to the huge Christmas tree in Manger Square.
“So we are celebrating the holiday by all means, the only thing missing at this stage is the large crowd, as it used to be in previous years, but the people in Bethlehem are optimistic that the future will be better.”
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa led the Christmas Day Mass on Friday at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, as the biblical city celebrated the holiday in a subdued atmosphere.
The Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Church in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, leads a Christmas midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem [Reuters]
In Lebanon, the government lifted most virus measures ahead of the holidays, hoping to stimulate the economy. Tens of thousands of Lebanese expats came home over the holidays, but there were some fears that this could lead to an increase in cases during the holiday season.
Lebanon has the highest percentage of Christians in the Middle East, about a third of its 5 million inhabitants, and traditionally celebrates Christmas with much fanfare.
A boy takes a photo with a man dressed as Santa Claus in a Christmas village in Beirut, Lebanon [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
Egypt has canceled all New Years celebrations to stop an increase in cases.
Meanwhile, celebrations in Europe were either canceled or greatly reduced as virus infections spiked across the continent amid fears of a new, more infectious variant.
At UK, People welcomed Christmas Eve with a Brexit trade deal, news greeted with relief and, for some, a hint of skepticism.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a video on his Twitter account delivering his Christmas message. Johnson said it’s a “little gift for anyone looking for something to read at that sleepy post-Christmas lunch moment,” waving the thick pile of papers documenting the Brexit trade deal with the European Union (EU) in front of the cameras. ”.
I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. pic.twitter.com/DofRkb4Ivc
– Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) Dec 24, 2020
In Italy, the church bells rang earlier than usual. The Italian government’s curfew at 10pm (09:00 GMT) prompted pastors to turn up services, with the “midnight” mass beginning Thursday night in some churches as early as a couple of hours after the to become night.
In Vatican CityPope Francis, who just celebrated his 84th birthday, lined up and celebrated a mass in a back section of St. Peter’s Basilica with fewer than 100 participants and only a small number of cardinals and bishops.
On Friday, he called on countries to share COVID-19 vaccines, saying that walls of nationalism cannot be built to stop a pandemic that knows no borders. Francis delivered his traditional message “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) virtually from a lectern inside the Vatican.
“At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and serious economic and social imbalances that have only been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, it is even more important that we recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters,” he said.
He also highlighted the plight of children caught up in war, pointing to victims in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Pope Francis conducts Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Vatican [Reuters]
In Greece, Christmas Eve was eerily quiet. In normal times, the voices of children singing Christmas carols while jingling metal triangles can be heard throughout the day. The decades-old custom, whereby children go from house to house and receive small gifts, was banned this year.
Groups of children succeeded in honoring the tradition by singing to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis via a video link, including students from a school for hearing-impaired children who performed in sign language.
People stand next to the illuminated Christmas stars in Athens [Costas Baltas/Reuters]
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to avoid visiting family members during Christmas and to use video calls to say hello, as service members stationed abroad do, as the country battles COVID. Germany is fighting an increase in coronavirus infections and deaths.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to avoid visiting family members during Christmas [File: Reuters]
In South Korea, People woke up on Christmas morning to learn that their coronavirus crisis has worsened as officials closed ski resorts and national parks, restricted hotel occupancy, and set fines for restaurants that accept large groups to stop a viral increase that has increased the occupation of the deceased.
Previously, the nation had presented itself as a model for how to fight the virus, and the public largely followed official guidelines, but a record 1,241 new infections were recorded on Friday.
“We strongly recommend and request that you cancel all your meetings and encounters, including with your close family members,” said Yoon Tae-ho from the Disaster Management Headquarters.
A man reads a book while waiting in line to get tested for COVID-19 at a coronavirus testing site [Reuters]
In China, authorities in the northeastern port city of Dalian are screening millions of residents after seven new cases of coronavirus were reported there in the past 24 hours.
The group that has emerged in recent days has grown to 12 cases. In five neighborhood divisions, authorities have closed schools and public spaces and are restricting anyone other than essential workers from leaving their residential complexes.
Beijing is also on high alert after two asymptomatic cases were reported Thursday, in addition to two confirmed cases last week.
A woman poses before a snowman statue on a shopping street on Christmas Eve, as the outbreak of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Beijing [Tingshu Wang/Reuters]
In Australia, Millions of Sydney residents were asked to limit their mobility during the Christmas holidays, with some families locked up and festive gatherings limited to 10 visitors inside.
Australia’s most populous city has been virtually isolated from the rest of the country with state border closures or mandatory 14-day quarantine for arrivals in Sydney.
“Please limit their mobility,” New South Wales (NSW) State Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
“Aside from those close family gatherings, which we’ve allowed over the Christmas holidays, we don’t want people to move around unless absolutely necessary.”
A man wears a Santa hat on Christmas Day at Bondi Beach in Sydney [Loren Elliott/Reuters]
At U.S, Americans are celebrating a bleak Christmas with the explosion of coronavirus infections across the country. Political leaders warned people against traveling or gathering in large groups.
More than a million people have received the first of two doses of the vaccine since Dec. 14, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Achieving herd immunity to the virus could require vaccination of up to 90 percent of Americans, Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s foremost infectious disease expert, told the New York Times in an interview.
Worshipers sit socially estranged outside during Christmas Eve Mass on the playground of Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Orange County, California. [AFP]
Mexico on Thursday he inoculated his first person against COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine was administered to nurse María Irene Ramírez, 59, head of nursing at the intensive care unit at the Rubén Lenero hospital in Mexico City.
“This is the best gift I could have received in 2020,” Ramírez said, adding that it would give him strength to continue the “war” against the pandemic.
Maria Irene Ramirez receives the first injection with a dose of the Pfizer / BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the General Hospital [Edgard Garrido/Reuters]
Chile received the first 10,000 doses of a 10 million order of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Thursday, and vaccinations for healthcare workers should begin immediately.
In Costa Rica, health workers administered the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to a couple of elderly people in a house near the capital, San José, while some 300,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine arrived in Argentina.
“My message is that everyone should get vaccinated,” said Jorge De Ford, a 72-year-old former university professor who was one of the first two people in Costa Rica to receive the injection.
Jorge De Ford, 72, receives a dose of the Pfizer / BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in San José [Reuters]
Meanwhile in BrazilPresident Jair Bolsonaro used his Christmas message to cast more doubt on a coronavirus vaccine purchased by one of the country’s states, from the Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac.
In his live broadcast on social networks this Thursday, Bolsonaro said that “the efficacy of that Sao Paulo vaccine appears to be very low,” although he did not add specific details.
Brazil so far has no agreements to import vaccines made by Pfizer or Moderna, which have been approved by the United States and other nations. It has an agreement to secure up to 100 million doses of the potential vaccine produced by AstraZeneca.
President Jair Bolsonaro used his Christmas message to cast more doubt on a coronavirus vaccine [File: Reuters]
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