To not understand why entire government policy seems to be about one day in December

[Dishwashersaurous]

Either we are in the middle of a pandemic and restrictions on visiting and life are essential. Or they are not.

If they are then why is it even being considered to ease/stop them for one day

@bellinisurge. How many people in Manchester do not celebrate Eid?

Christmas isn’t one day. It’s a 12 day festival! Maybe get your facts right before you start moaning.

YANBU People need to accept Christmas as we know it is cancelled this year. I spent last Christmas alone and will be spending this Christmas just myself and DS. It should be seen as a time for reflection on Christmas's gone by and a time for appreciating what you have maybe then we'll see a whole lot less nastiness and selfishness in 2021 amd Christmas 2021 will be a whole lot more meaningful and poignant and less about consumerism and wants. I realised today that an elderly neighbour has died from Covid his house boarded up and his dog left homeless so i cant say i have much sympathy for all the Karen's wanting to spend Christmas throwing parties as normal.

Becasue it's the one time of year that most people on this country look forward to - the one time when most things stop and people spend quality time with their families with out liking at work phones etc, enjoy traditions that bind people together and feel connected to loved not. Most people have had a shit year and are missing their family and friends and would just rebel if they were told they weren't allowrd to see their families.

It seems the people who don't seem to get it have an axe to grind about Christianity. Our winter festival predates Christmas, which is basically a Christian rebranding of an existing celebration to make Christianity more palatable to the masses.

Also, this is a Christian country whether people practice or not. Our values are still based on Christian principles.

The government expect people to see their families anyway. If they 'allow' it in return for additional restrictions after, people are more likely to comply after

Because that is what populists do.

Bo Johnson always looks like like a poor actor trying to play the role of PM. The shabbiness of his appearance combined with an utter lack of gravitas is not his only problem, however. He is a man of sky-high ambition but woefully average intellect, who having crashed the biggest party in town is now frantically searching for the fire escape. Thanks for being utterly shit "Boris" and thanks for giving us Brexit just so you could become PM you stupid bellend.

@Mintjulia , what's your point? Obviously most people in Greater Manchester don't celebrate Eid but a large number do in the part of Greater Manchester I live in and you don't need to be a super forecaster to know that two hours notice of any kind of extra lockdown down (regardless of Eid) was contemptuous shit.
However it was the first in a series of People Who Aren't Home Countries and Christians Don't Matter"

@Dishwashersaurous

Either we are in the middle of a pandemic and restrictions on visiting and life are essential. Or they are not.

If they are then why is it even being considered to ease/stop them for one day

This.

@Cam2020

Becasue it's the one time of year that most people on this country look forward to - the one time when most things stop and people spend quality time with their families with out liking at work phones etc, enjoy traditions that bind people together and feel connected to loved not. Most people have had a shit year and are missing their family and friends and would just rebel if they were told they weren't allowrd to see their families.

It seems the people who don't seem to get it have an axe to grind about Christianity. Our winter festival predates Christmas, which is basically a Christian rebranding of an existing celebration to make Christianity more palatable to the masses.

Also, this is a Christian country whether people practice or not. Our values are still based on Christian principles.

I think that there are millions of people in this country who want to have a “proper Christmas” and they are not remotely religious.

The government are considering this because they know that it’s a vote winner and that getting pissed with a load of relatives in front of some crap tv is essential to tonnes of people.

Give the people what they want as they say

I understand why anyone would want a normal Christmas after such an awful year, but I really hope they don't lift the restrictions on mixing at Christmas. I don't want a longer lockdown in January/February and all the other effects such as higher deaths, risking the NHS capacity to cope (given that it struggles with winter every normal year), more failing businesses, more job losses and more children missing school. It's not worth it for one day, hopefully next Christmas will be more normal with the vaccines coming soon.

It's different if you could only mix with one household and you were both able to isolate beforehand, but this won't be the case for everyone.

I think that there are millions of people in this country who want to have a “proper Christmas” and they are not remotely religious.

Err, did I not say it was about family and that the festival pre-dates Christianity?

because that one day has been built up so much that even in normal times, the shops are full of useless crap for 3 months before, people have to be told not to get massively into debt for one day, everyone wrecks the planet by buying pointless and unwanted gifts and then it is off to buy Easter eggs.

'get a life' doesn't really apply at the moment - but that's the root of the problem. Everyone wishing time away for that one day in midwinter.

Handily, it distracts us from brexit. Even the bbc website has a ‘coronavirus’ subhead - but hardly mentions the biggest cock up in British politics for years.

Because despite all that is going on, a great many people will get together with their relatives at Christmas whether it is allowed or not. It will be impossible to impose and police a nationwide clampdown on this and so damage limitation is the approach. It might not be good sense but it is how it will play out and I do understand why people will balk against a Christmas isolated from loved ones.