To think Christmas should not be treated differently from Eid and Diwali?

[RUNFAST11]

We are hearing the government could allow a few days meeting during Christmas. While I understand this may be necessary, this could lead to spikes of COVID again and put pressure on the NHS (nearly 600 deaths yesterday) we aren't out of the woods yet.

When it was Eid in May Muslims were warned not to congregate and meet other households. A similar message was said in Diwali to have a stay at home Diwali.

They're mentioning the possibility of it now, in the hopes that we'll all behave ourselves and drive infection rates down, which will mean Christmas can be the money spinner it usually is.

Medically, it would make sense not to change anything at Christmas, but if you bring the economy into the equation, a few days of increased risk could do a lot for some businesses.

It's a bit like having a day off every couple of months when you're on a diet, and hitting the pizza and ice cream. Short term, it looks bad, but in terms of the long term plan, a bit of relief can do wonders.

Just my husband and I at home for Christmas this year. We normally go to family, but decided not to travel whatever the rules say. We are well past retirement age, and we'll miss seeing the grandchildren, but it's one year. We can talk to them on Skype, the gifts are almost all organised, and we plan to have a lazy, quiet day with nice food and a few treats. Of course its different for someone who is alone, but I see no need for big get togethers this year.

See what the numbers are in December. Hopefully current lockdown reduces them

Bank holidays for Christmas and New year can be moved.

@RUNFAST11

We are hearing the government could allow a few days meeting during Christmas. While I understand this may be necessary, this could lead to spikes of COVID again and put pressure on the NHS (nearly 600 deaths yesterday) we aren't out of the woods yet.

When it was Eid in May Muslims were warned not to congregate and meet other households. A similar message was said in Diwali to have a stay at home Diwali.

With the greatest respect though, were I live, trust me the police have no choice but to allow Christmas because people ignored the rules during Ramadan and the police did sweet FA about it. It's been the cause of widespread annoyance and debate for months here, mainly along the lines of the type of twatty right winger who will try and gain from the polices ineptitude and lack of penalities. Even the local council is raising an inquiry. Sadly I think that had been the case elsewhere and as a result they know that it will be the case that many will ignore it anyway and there isn't enough police to deal with it.

Christmas isn't really about religion.

It's about coping with deep dark winter and for generations we have done this with a celebration, coming together sharing food and presents and warmth.

But I would prefer it to be set aside this year to overcome Covid.

@madcatladyforever

I don't give a monkeys about religious celebrations including my own (pagan), they can all wait until we've got a vaccine. We are not going to die without one year of festivities. People are behaving as if its the end of the world. Get your priorities right for goodness sake. I'm spending pagan Yule on the sofa with my cat alone and the usual revellery can wait until next year.

Me too! sans a cat though

However for many people in this country Christmas is a secular activity and indeed celebrated by people or different or no religion. It is celebrated by a higher proportion of the country.

that makes no sense at all and invites discrimination on the grounds of religion by the government. The fact that more people want to meet up is the very reason that it shouldn't be allowed. It's shit and it sucks but just get it over with, get to spring and we can see how it is.

A small percentage of people in the UK celebrate Eid and Diwali whereas the whole country 'celebrates' Christmas with shops and businesses closed etc. There's a difference.

Easter didn’t happen
Halloween didn’t really happen
Bonfire nights didn’t really happen

I don’t think people should be having huge gathering for Christmas, I think it should be limited to a number of people or 2 households (so those with bigger families can still have another household over)?

I for one won’t be having people over Christmas Day and it doesn’t really bother me as there will be many more Christmas’s. I can see how others may feel differently, for some it could be their relatives last Christmas or their child’s first Christmas, others may be celebrating after recovering from illness and want to spend it with family.

I think the government will be forced to lift some restrictions for 3 days just to keep people happy and to be fair if they don’t people are likely to ignore the restrictions anyway and I can’t see how it can be policed.

In this months Good Housekeeping it states that the Samaritans usually get 400,000 calls throughout December, 11,000 on Christmas Day alone. IMO there is a good chance it could be worse this year if the Government put restrictions in place. Also i would bet a penny to a pinch of shit that MPs and advisors will want to see their families regardless but wont want another Barnard Castle type scandal. Because lets face it the papers and journos will be watching them like hawks to see if they do practice what they preach. And after watching Dispatches Lockdown Chaos and the PPE and testing scandals im tired of being made a mug of while they cash in.

And those elderly relatives who normally go to family members on Christmas Day may need an employed carer to go in that day instead. This has to be factored in as well.

@MercyBooth

In this months Good Housekeeping it states that the Samaritans usually get 400,000 calls throughout December, 11,000 on Christmas Day alone. IMO there is a good chance it could be worse this year if the Government put restrictions in place. Also i would bet a penny to a pinch of shit that MPs and advisors will want to see their families regardless but wont want another Barnard Castle type scandal. Because lets face it the papers and journos will be watching them like hawks to see if they do practice what they preach. And after watching Dispatches Lockdown Chaos and the PPE and testing scandals im tired of being made a mug of while they cash in.

And those elderly relatives who normally go to family members on Christmas Day may need an employed carer to go in that day instead. This has to be factored in as well.

I don’t know the current stats but it used to be that Christmas was a time of year with the highest suicide rates so that is also a consideration for the government in trying to let people meet up.

The Christian community had Easter treated exactly the same as Diwali and Eid, in fact restrictions were more far reaching and tighter for Easter as it was at the height of the Lockdown 1.

Whatever religion you are, the "Christmas/New Year" period in the UK benefits from 3 bank holiday days so families would possibly using the time off work to visit family/get together. Lots of people have annual leave saved up as they didn't have a holiday abroad this year so can add this to add up to a nice break from work.

As the Americans say around this time of year....."Happy Holidays !"

YABU. And Diwali did go ahead if the fireworks in my area were anything to go by. No judgment by the way - if the government go all Cromwellian and ban people from celebrating Christmas then I will certainly be breaking the rules!

Covid wasnt serious enough for MPs to work through their summer recess. Strange for an unprecedented national crisis.

Relaxing restrictiins for Christmas seems unwise and risky to me. I hate the thought of a lockdown restricted Christmas but allowing a relaxation of restructions for Christmas day would definitely lead to more covid spreading about. Even if they do relax things I won't see my Nan or my parents, I don't want them to catch anything off us, and there is confirmed covid at my DDs school and DHs work.

@Dongdingdong It went ahead here too. No judgement from me either.

Eid was at the end of July soo not really at the height of the pandemic

Schools were not back. Universities were also closed. Do you think had they been open, that it wouldnt still have been the height of the pandemic?

I fear for the people that are already suffering with their MH if 'Xmas is cancelled' - it really is a tough time of the year for many. To not see their family and friends (even in a smaller number than normal) could well be catastrophic for some

I feel really sad for those who had to do without their own religious festivals and celebrations. The Eid decision must have been devastating. Just a few hours notice, with everything cooked and ready for guests.

But the Christmas decision is a pragmatic one. The economic ramifications are huge, and let's face it, if it was cancelled there would be a massive uprising and people would stop even trying to follow the rules and guidelines both then, and in the future.

So the only way to keep 95% of the population onside and still at least paying lip service to the rules and guidelines that will have to apply well into 2021, is to allow some leeway for Christmas.

I think it's slightly disingenuous to compare Christmas with purely religious celebrations such as Eid/Diwali and yes, Easter too which was also affected.

Whilst technically Christmas is a religious holiday, it isn't. Huge numbers of the population celebrate Christmas from varying religions, it's a huge commercial holiday and has a lot of economic benefits too.

Whilst I do understand your point regarding one rule for one and another for others, I do think we have to remember that it isn't just about religion. And no, I don't really think it's comparable in the same way personally.

But the Christmas decision is a pragmatic one. The economic ramifications are huge, and let's face it, if it was cancelled there would be a massive uprising and people would stop even trying to follow the rules and guidelines both then, and in the future

So the only way to keep 95% of the population onside and still at least paying lip service to the rules and guidelines that will have to apply well into 2021, is to allow some leeway for Christmas

Agree.

Yes and no. May was a different time of year with less known about the virus. But yes, they should have allowed close family to meet in a bubble for Diwali and Eid in the same way as they propose Christmas.

Relaxing slightly for Christmas is also an economic decision. People meet up so pay for travel as well as buying gifts, food, drink etc.

I agree. It's religious discrimination, and just blatantly unfair.

@Hayeahnobut

Aren't we meant to be following the science? If so, what is the scientific justification for allowing Christmas to go ahead without restrictions?

We stopped following the science when it cost too much!

I think thr difficult balance is that if there isn’t some relaxation for Xmas, people will say “bugger it” and do what they want. It is a time of bank ho,idays, time off work and people traditionally get together regardless of religion (or none). If they relax the rules, there’s a chance people will actually mingle less than if they just decide to ignore a strict set of rules altogether.

It’s a question of where the tipping point is for least worst spike in infections, because people WILL get together for important holidays, as we have seen for Eid and Canadian thanksgiving.