Coronavirus clouds Christmas celebrations for second year
Steely Vanlue, dressed as Mrs Claus, passes by a destroyed home on Christmas Eve in a heavily damaged neighbourhood after tornadoes ripped through several US states inKentucky. Reuters
An explosion in cases driven by the rise of the Omicron variant has meant a Christmas season tainted by the pandemic for a second year running, with Santa's arrival and longed-for family reunions overshadowed by the prospect of yet more COVID-19 restrictions.
In St Peter's Basilica, the 85-year-old Argentine pontiff urged the faithful to "value the little things in life."
"On this night of love, may we have only one fear: that of offending God's love, hurting him by despising the poor with our indifference," said Francis, who later Saturday will give his traditional Urbi et Orbi address and blessing.
About 2,000 members of the public and 200 religious figures attended the Christmas Eve mass, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing as part of measures against the coronavirus.
In Bethlehem's Manger Square, visitors in Santa hats and scouts beating drums marked Christmas Eve, but numbers were lower than usual as coronavirus fears overshadowed celebrations for a second straight year.
In the southern Philippines, standing in a pool of water in his typhoon-hit church, Father Ricardo Virtudazo celebrated Christmas Day mass with dozens of devotees who prayed for a better year after the storm killed nearly 400 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
"What's important is all of us are safe," said Joy Parera, 31, attending the service with her husband in the town of Alegria on the island of Mindanao.
Another survivor, Marites Sotis, said she would usually serve up meat, spring rolls and salad for Christmas but that her family was struggling after the storm felled most of their coconut trees.
"We won't have those this year because they cost a lot of money," Sotis, 53, told AFP. "We'll make do with spaghetti."
Millions of Americans were nevertheless on the move to see loved ones for Christmas, even as COVID-19 infections surpass the peak of the previous wave and hospitals run out of beds.
In Washington, US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill visited a children's hospital for the traditional Christmas book-reading by the first lady.
The couple chatted with patients and doctors, showing one boy a photo of "Commander" — their new puppy — before settling into chairs beside a Christmas tree and reading a book inspired by the Disney movie "Frozen."
In Europe, governments are reimposing misery-inducing safety measures that are draining the fun from Christmas for many.
The Netherlands is back in lockdown while Spain and Italy have made wearing masks compulsory outdoors.
And with Britain hitting a record high number of COVID-19 infections again on Friday for a third day in a row, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested getting a vaccine booster shot as a Christmas gift for relatives.
'Ray of light'
Still, Christmas gatherings will be easier than a year ago in many other places around the world.
Most Australians are allowed to travel interstate over the festive break for the first time in two years, with Sydney's Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher saying that Christmas was "a ray of light" in dark times.
And Santa Claus was not deterred from doing his rounds and been cleared for travel in Canada's airspace after showing proof of vaccination and a pre-flight negative Covid test, Ottawa's transport minister said.
According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) Santa-tracking website, Father Christmas had delivered nearly five billion gifts and was flying over Canada at around 0200 GMT.
"He's been at it for many hours already and will go throughout the evening as well," said Major General Eric Kenny, commander of the Canadian NORAD region.
Agence France-Presse
