What does cancelling Christmas actually mean?

[User135644]

A lot of talk and fear now that Christmas is going to be screwed again with this new variant causing a lot of fear and panic.

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).

i had my last babies Dec 2019, def no extra lock down sex here so def on the Netflix side

they can say whatever they like had to cancel seeing my family last year-wont be doing that again

they done a poll (somewhereonline) less than 50% said they would follow more lockdown rules this time

@Remmy123

Are people really going to pay attention to why more of this bullshit? I can't imagine it will be cancelled but ultimately you do what you feel is best. It's not like anyone checks up on you!!

It's harder for people who have to travel really. I would shit all over any regulations restricting contact at Christmas, just as I did in 2020, but I live within walking distance of multiple family households and neighbours don't grass for that here, so practically speaking I can do what the fuck I like. Harder if you'd have to use a motorway or worse, a train station or airport.

I do agree though, those who can get to loved ones will choose to do so in large numbers regardless of the regulations.

This time last year in Scotland we had lectures in not sharing the tattie spoon and not having crackers...

We'll be doing the same as we did last year and every year before that and it will be the 4 of us (DS home from Uni) but hopefully the pub will be open for our walk to the pub for a pint on Christmas day. Missed that last year.

Thanks for pointing that out, @dabbydeedoo. As a single person who spent Christmas literally alone, I find it very upsetting when people say they were alone when actually they have a partner and/or children. That is not alone. That would be like a dream to me.

Last year most of my neighbours had visitors / were off clearly visiting with presents and deserts in hand etc.
Nobody will pay any attention. I think most people are quite ready for normality now.
They can force shops to close but nobody will stop mixing

Ohh they love the doom on here . No we won’t have restrictions because I won’t do it . All my family had the jab in fact most have had the booster .

We were in tier 4 last year so didn’t get to see any family at Christmas. We had to watch whilst the rest of the UK at least got to see people on Christmas Day. Not happening this year, there’s no way we will comply with any restrictions on seeing other households after the way the government handled it last year. They used up all the goodwill when they completely cancelled Christmas less than one week in advance for my area.

I think if they put restrictions on Christmas many people won’t follow them. I am happy to stay home with my 2 teens, it doesn’t bother me (we enjoyed last year) but understand that many people don’t want a repeat of last year and many don’t want to be alone for Christmas. I think people will just be told to be sensible but many won’t take any notice.

We spent Christmas with my immediate family who live in our house. We cancelled arrangements with grandparents as the numbers were spiking and it would have been risky.

A friend of mine got together with her extended family and sadly lost her 60 year old father as a result of Christmas Day mixing. A couple of weeks after Christmas, both her parents had been hospitalised and her dad's organs began to fail. He died at the start of January.

Her story will sadly be the similar to many others and they have to now spend this Christmas with the sadness and regret of what happened last year.

We are planning to see family this year (all would be doing LFTs), but if things start looking bad again, we would definitely cancel. It isn't worth it.

@Cacee3029

but you were not alone, and you were lucky to be 'safe at home'

If you stuck to the rules last year, 'Christmas' was one day. So what if you were an NHS worker, police, fire services, etc etc on shift on Christmas day? No Christmas for you.

I was not totally alone, but it wasnt a barrel of laughs for my 16 year old isolated from friends. Too far away from family to go and stand in gardens, not that I could stand in my mums's garden without going through the house anyway.
Not everyone lives in a nice cosy little bubble

@Fairylights25

NotMyCat Instead of wishing for lockdown perhaps a permanent reinforcement of boundaries would serve you better. Please just say no! 'I am not putting my health at risk for Christmas lunch in the restaurant, you can either come for drinks in the garden or at a push lunch at our house given I am CEV or we will see next year, at least that way I can expect to see another Christmas'

Christmas is not more important than your life, a restaurant booking certainly isn't. So bloody optional. Please tell me you will put your foot down on this, this is the hill to literally die on. I am double vaccinated and caught covid, and was seriously ill. I don't want to scare anyone and join blow with the doom mongering but the CEV still have to be very careful.

It would cause ww3. Also it may be my mums last Christmas which is why my dad is pushing it He doesn't understand my health condition

Ted27 in some parts of the UK, eg London, even on Xmas day mixing wasn't allowed.

Highly unlikely, but if the Omicron variant becomes rife they won't have much choice. It'll presumably be like last year. People would be daft to ignore it, because that variant is potentially dangerous and we don't know whether vaccines will be sufficient.

Even if it's not as bad as that, we really do need to be taking more precautions. It's all the people blithely ignoring masks, testing, distancing etc who are perpetuating the risk of variants developing. The virus can't mutate if it can't spread.

Honestly OP, where were you last Christmas?
I met somebody the other day who had never done a lateral flow test.
Some people really do live under a rock, how can you not know what cancelling Christmas means after last year?

They could do what they did last year. Close the shops restaurants pubs and tell people they can't travel out of their area etc.
Can't see it but I've said that before and I am no judge.

@Platax

Highly unlikely, but if the Omicron variant becomes rife they won't have much choice. It'll presumably be like last year. People would be daft to ignore it, because that variant is potentially dangerous and we don't know whether vaccines will be sufficient.

Even if it's not as bad as that, we really do need to be taking more precautions. It's all the people blithely ignoring masks, testing, distancing etc who are perpetuating the risk of variants developing. The virus can't mutate if it can't spread.

People will have a choice, however. Not all, but lots. Whether you think it's daft to ignore any restrictions that might come in is really immaterial. Your own view only affects you and yours.

@VikingOnTheFridge people could ignore any restrictions and go to each others houses. They cant do anything else though if they are forced to close.

Bold is certainly talking about a worse case scenario but she does have a better grasp of the science than many on this thread.

Just wear the bloody masks. It's proven that they help - why wouldn't you want to protect others?

www.pnas.org/content/118/4/e2014564118

theconversation.com/evidence-shows-that-yes-masks-prevent-covid-19-and-surgical-masks-are-the-way-to-go-167963

[quote julieca]@VikingOnTheFridge people could ignore any restrictions and go to each others houses. They cant do anything else though if they are forced to close.[/quote]
Yes. However, people being able to socialise privately is incredibly significant. Both in the specific context of this thread about cancelling Christmas, and of the wider discussion about what will actually be achieved by reintroducing restrictions.

@VikingOnTheFridge yes it is significant. But there are people on this thread acting as if any restrictions that may happen wont affect them and they can just ignore them.

[quote julieca]@VikingOnTheFridge yes it is significant. But there are people on this thread acting as if any restrictions that may happen wont affect them and they can just ignore them.[/quote]
Well, in a Christmas context that's probably going to be true for a lot of us. Obviously not if you're travelling, as I said uptread, or if you were going to spend a lot of time in pubs and restaurants. But if like me you were planning to stay local and spend lots of time with family in each other's homes, you basically are unaffected by restrictions. I can and will ignore them and they will make no difference to my plans.

You know, you don't HAVE to do what the government says, right? Even if it's illegal to visit people in their homes or whatever, you can do what you want. You can make your own decisions. So regardless of what the government says, have the Christmas you want.

@VikingOnTheFridge I think it is unusual over Christmas never to go out for a meal, to see a nativity play, to go to a carol concert, or any other gatherings in public venues people do for Christmas. So I suspect you may be in a minority. It would affect my Christmas.