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Christmas IS going to be cancelled - last minute.

726 replies

Elephant4 · 18/12/2020 23:35

Isn't it?

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/18/boris-johnson-calls-crisis-meeting-to-discuss-response-to-new-covid-strain

They're panicking now.

OP posts:
Oliversmumsarmy · 19/12/2020 09:03

It has been. While you've allowed to do it, you've been told not to. They won't make it law as they need the votes

They don’t need the votes. They are in for a few more years.

If they cancelled it outright then people would have carried on anyway.

Aren’t there less people in hospital than last year?

Confusedandshaken · 19/12/2020 09:03

A lot of people seem determined to find someone to blame for the many hardships of this pandemic. Some people want to blame the government for locking down too soon or too late, for too long or not long enough, for closing the schools and for keeping them open. Other people want to blame their neighbours, colleagues or inlaws for going out too often, not sanitising adequately or conversely, wilfully destroying the economy and destroying family ties by being over cautious and staying home. At the beginning a lot of people seemed to blame the population of China as if eating foods that aren't part of a normal western diet was a deliberate attempt to destroy the world order (although mercifully, that seems to have died off.).

This is a new and very contagious virus. It will spread. Nothing anyone can do will stop it spreading. This will continue to be an international problem until a level of herd immunity is reached either naturally or by vaccination. All anyone can do, whether in government or at home, is assimilate the information available at any given moment and react to it. If subsequent events show they made a poor choice they have to then deal with that.

I am not an apologist for the Tory government. I've never voted Tory in my life and I don't expect I ever will, but if hindsight is showing Boris that giving us the 5 day Christmas window was the wrong thing to do he should have the courage to admit this and revise the policy. If it saves even a few lives it will be worth it. What I hope he doesn't do is stick to the original plan because he is scared of looking weak or losing popularity.

Lemonpiano · 19/12/2020 09:03

Next year there will be a plethora of threads about how much they enjoyed a smaller Christmas, and how can we get out of XYZ this time round and forever

So true.

AliceMadHatter · 19/12/2020 09:05

*Mousehole10

Doyouthinktheysaurus

I bloody hope so but I don't think they have the balls.

They will instead blame the public for the increased figures in January, say we did not follow their advice and lock us down.

I am working Christmas, sticking to all the rules and have a lovely trip to Isle of Wight planned for January which was moved from November thanks to lockdown. I can see that being cancelled again due to another lockdown and it pisses me off. I don't understand why people can't just stay at home.

So you want people to stay at home now so that you’re free to travel when you want to?*

That's what I thought. WTF?

DrunkenKoala · 19/12/2020 09:15

@KitKat1985

I think lockdown 2 should have been in place for 6 weeks rather than 4. The numbers were only just really starting to fall when lockdown ended. If the government had done two more weeks of lockdown numbers would have dropped much lower and Christmas still would have happened.
I’m in Medway. At the end of lockdown our numbers were stabilising at around 600/100,000 (for a week) and then we started climbing again. Two week later were on about 775/100,000. We have asymptomatic testing in the borough now but it’s not picking up enough positives to justify the jump in numbers. I do wonder if adding an extra two weeks to the lockdown would have driven numbers down here. Our hospital is struggling, really struggling. Over half its beds have covid patients in them. I’m dreading January.

We decided a while back to keep Christmas to our own household and I’m glad we did. We’ve been tested (negative) but I still don’t feel comfortable mixing (lateral flow test aren’t 100% accurate). Hopefully meet PIL outdoors at a National Trust for a day out between Boxing Day and NYE. And then it’ll be a very low key birthday for DD, just keeping my fingers crossed for Easter - I haven’t seen my dad and his partner since last Christmas.

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 19/12/2020 09:17

The problem is that we have been told, in true Torybollocks style, over and over, until it becomes a received truth - that it would all be over by Xmas, that it will be fine at Xmas, that we can meet at Xmas....

So people have been holding out hope for it, using it as a milestone, magnifying it's significance and now won't accept that it isn't safe to do so.

Kljnmw3459 · 19/12/2020 09:17

They're not going to be seen "cancelling" Christmas, it would be political suicide. They'll put the responsibility on individuals to follow the recommendations. Also we will have a lockdown in January.

Lovemusic33 · 19/12/2020 09:18

I wish people would stop saying ‘cancel Christmas’, Christmas will still go ahead wether you are at home or at relatives. We spend every Christmas at home alone and actually enjoy it. Yes it’s sad that people can’t see their family it it’s not the end of the world. For those that are panicking that they won’t be able to buy a turkey, there are plenty of other things to eat and if Turkey was that nice we would eat it all year round 🤣. We will have a great Christmas just the 3 of us and hopefully by Easter we can spend time with family and they will all be alive. I would feel so guilty if I passed the virus onto someone and they become very unwell or god forbid died.

I’m sure if it’s decided that we can not travel that some people will still go ahead with their plans because people are selfish and will do what they like. I also understand that others have isolated so they can safely visit each other. What ever happens we are likely to see another lockdown due to this new strain and how fast it has already spread.

Frostythesnowwoman · 19/12/2020 09:19

@Kljnmw3459 I think that was the case previously but now there is new data/warnings regarding the new strain they may have no choice.

My guess (Fwiw) would be no travelling to lower Tiers, and maybe 2 household limit.

Kjc39 · 19/12/2020 09:20

Cancelling this Christmas to save future Christmas. Total rubbish. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Who knows when it’s your last Christmas. I never knew that Christmas 2008 would be the last Christmas with my dad. I was only 29 when he died. Make the most of the time you have with loved ones!!!

BelleSausage · 19/12/2020 09:21

All this stress could have been saved if they’d let schools go online for the last week of term.

Kjc39 · 19/12/2020 09:22

This new strain is massively over hyped. Viruses evolve all the time. It’s very unlikely to be more harmful. They don’t work that way. More likely to become less harmful

Frostythesnowwoman · 19/12/2020 09:23

@Kjc39 are you a scientist? Genuine question.

BelleSausage · 19/12/2020 09:23

@Kljnmw3459

It might be too late for that. The cases seem to be doubling very quickly now. We are rapidly reaching the point where there will be no hospital beds left.

So it’s lockdown or no cancer treatments and ration sing if treatment for those over 70 (as they had to do in Italy).

StCharlotte · 19/12/2020 09:24

@Cowmilk

I don’t think they should cancel any religious celebration. We don’t live in a nanny state. Just give us the full information and let us decide individual risks.

If they were more forthcoming with re admission rate for people in hospitals (because a lot of people are being discharged a lot earlier than normal), I think people would be more careful with their own health.

My office of 30 people has had five positive cases in the last fortnight, two of whom have been taken to hospital by ambulance (although neither had to be admitted thankfully) and they were the younger fitter ones.

That's all I need to know.

sashh · 19/12/2020 09:24

Eh?
It's never been cancelled before, for any reason.

Didn't Cromwell try?

I don't celebrate Christmas and I'm usually on my own so that's no difference.

My dad, well that's different, he's in his 80s and I think this is the first time he will not have visitors or be visiting relatives.

The relatives who are near enough to invite him are either key workers or elderly themselves.

SufferingFromLongLockdown · 19/12/2020 09:25

At this point I'm not going to sit around worrying about what the govt decide. I'm quite happy in my own little bubble.

HelloMissus · 19/12/2020 09:28

They won’t change the policy they’ll just bang on and on asking people not to mix ‘unless they have to’ and leave the public to police one another like we’re in Salem.

There’s going to be a lockdown in January anyway, surely? Wales and NI have already said so.
This way the government can blame the public for that and many will agree. Job done for them really.

randomer · 19/12/2020 09:29

@, a bit of alliteration for all the thickies out there.

speakout · 19/12/2020 09:32

It's never been cancelled before, for any reason.

Christmas was banned in England for several years in the 1600s.
In Scotland Christmas was banned for 400 years, only becoming a public holiday in he 1950s.

EleanorRigbyWasReal · 19/12/2020 09:34

I can only speak for myself. We’re not doing any “socialising/meeting up”. It’s not cancelled in the fact that we’re lucky enough to have shopped for all our Christmas food/little extras and nice wines and were in a lovely warm home, with our Sky/Netflix and we finish work on Wednesday afternoon, ready to hunker down.

FaceTime with family, is all we can do and we will.

I think the massive “Christmas overload” mentality needed curbing. Both my parents died this year and had they been in their own, it would have been different for me as I wouldn’t want either to be alone. But not JUST for Christmas. Just at any time.

MagicSummer · 19/12/2020 09:35

I really really do not understand all the inflated hype re Christmas anyway. It is just one day - OK one day when the emphasis is on family and food and drink - but is it really worth it? Not just the situation this year, but every year - the huge amounts of money spent on presents nobody wants unless they have specifically asked for them - the pressure to see relatives you quite honestly couldn't care less about - the mountain of food and drink, a good proportion of which goes in the bin! It's all a lot of hysteria, made worse by the media.

JinglingHellsBells · 19/12/2020 09:38

@MagicSummer

I really really do not understand all the inflated hype re Christmas anyway. It is just one day - OK one day when the emphasis is on family and food and drink - but is it really worth it? Not just the situation this year, but every year - the huge amounts of money spent on presents nobody wants unless they have specifically asked for them - the pressure to see relatives you quite honestly couldn't care less about - the mountain of food and drink, a good proportion of which goes in the bin! It's all a lot of hysteria, made worse by the media.
Exactly.

I was horrified last week to see the crowds of people shopping all over the country. I mean, what's going on in their heads?

All no doubt buying gifts that few people need or want, queueing to get into Zara etc. WTF?

Who's going anywhere that they need clothes or anything for the next month or two?

The virus is as it is because people are carrying on as if it's not around.

Requinblanc · 19/12/2020 09:39

For goodness sake Christmas in itself cannot be 'cancelled'. Unless you want the government to legislate to amend the calendar so we jump from the 24th December straight to the 26th December....It really is starting to go rather Orwellian. You will be able to celebrate Christmas, the issue is how many people you will be able to do it with.

abitofpeace · 19/12/2020 09:41

They are relying on people having the common sense to know how they will mix over the festive period. The majority of my friends and family are being careful.

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