What does cancelling Christmas actually mean?

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Around here people seem extremely committed to 'tearing the pants out of Christmas' in Van Tam's words after last year, so yes definitely expecting an increase in numbers, but for most it will be worth it to have a proper Christmas and knees up provided the hospitals are managing.

I feel sorry for those that wish for a lockdown Christmas, how sad does your life have to be to wish for that?!

I missed my dads last Christmas last year. There is no way I'm not having my mum with us this year.

Last year it was permitted to bubble with single people for mental health reasons. I'm hoping if restrictions come in that this will apply otherwise I won't have an excuse for her being with me.

She's coming regardless. With lateral flow and sensible precautions we will be as safe as we can be.

@BlowBadness what good is zoom if you have nobody to video call? Have you ever tried getting mental health support recently? I tried to commit suicide in February because I couldn't face another lock down - I'd been telling people this for months and begging for help from anyone who would listen - guess how many times my mental health team have seen me since then? 0! I've had no contact from them whatsoever but yes continue to live in your perfect world where its fine to rely on technology and have no physical interaction with anyone ever because the psychological effects of that won't be a problem at all...

@BlowBadness can you please link to the Botswana government statement?
I’ve been looking but can’t see anything official released about the new variant from them.

They can fuck off. Unless one of us actually had covid, we are spending Christmas with our family this year.

And no-one's alone these days,. don't give me that, Zoom exists and if people won't use it and also find mental health support that's on them. so you mean if you can't afford a computer with camera and Internet, if you're elderly and struggle to learn new tech, if you're MH is so poor that asking for help is too hard, then tough shit cos you don't really matter that much?

Have I woke up in 2020?

Feels like it from reading this thread.

Phone lines, the Army, zoom calls. Batshit.

What does that actually mean though in practice? Christmas to me is spending time with family and i'll be doing that regardless. They aren't going to stop people visiting relatives this year (at least not locally).

Many people don't have relatives. Last year I couldn't socialise with anyone at all. The only Xmas we had at all was presents for the kids and a roast dinner. It was so shit we did not consider it to be Xmas at all. Perhaps have some empathy for people who don't live near relatives.

To be honest though I wouldn't mind the restaurants shutting down for 3 days just so that I could actually be with my children over Christmas rather than working.

A lot of the problem is that Christmas is made out to be such an event and expectations get out of hand. Surely time spent with family is precious at any time of year? I'm really not fussed if we don't meet with family on a couple of days in late December, seeing them before or afterwards will be just as good. For Christians the (incorrect) anniversary of Jesus's birth will happen whether there is a lockdown or not.

What I think will happen is an annual new escape variant pops up somewhere then a 3 - 4 month full winter lockdown as the boffins create a variant-specific vaccine, so it'll be annual boosters for the last main variant in September - October like we had already, then boosters for the new before unlocking in March - April.
You think the Govt is going to lock down the whole country every winter from Nov-Jan despite giving everyone boosters in Sept-Oct and Mar-Apr? And you think the economy will survive this?

Our society is going to have to radically change and accept that big meetings between families, if they happen at all, happen in parks in the summer, but with the new VR technology there's literally no reason to be meeting people of a different generation face to face unless you actually don't care that you could kill them.

Is it only families having big meetings that's a problem to you?
I meet up inside every day with 30 people of a different generation; I don't think they are actually hoping to kill me.

Are you seriously suggesting that all houses have to limit to 4 people? What do I do with my youngest child?

Presumably in @BlowBadness world you have to find a family of less than 4 and they have to go there. If DS1 doesn't come back we've a space here, let me know!