cape town is a popular christmas
destination for travelers running away
from the cold in their home countries
normally it is very difficult to find a
hotel during that time of the year but
this year things are going to be
different although south africa opened
its borders
for international tourists with a
negative covets test results
only few are coming gonna be very
different
very different because i don't think
that christmas would be the same
most of people they lost they lost their
jobs cover 19
has affected my mental health a lot
so usually when i go home for christmas
i'm really cheery and i'm the bubbly one
but now
yeah i'm taking a cloud of sadness home
that is not necessary the amount of
people carrying together
the values spread quicker which is a bad
thing
for everybody not just for ourselves but
our families
co-workers colleagues sisters and
brothers
that is why we celebrate things on a
small scale racial
due to the pandemic the number of new
covet infections
is rather low for now but on the rise
again
epidemiologists warn of a spike in cases
because of the christmas celebrations
most events here
were already cancelled the good news for
those already here
if you're looking for silence and
contemplation on a lonely beach
your chances are quite good this year it
doesn't get much more christmasy
than this london's oxford streets
usually
buzzing with holiday shoppers but this
year standing around in big crowds
isn't top of anybody's christmas list
the uk
is still under strict restrictions but
from the 23rd until the 27th of december
there'll be a brief relaxation of the
rules up to three households will be
allowed to meet inside
and for many of us it's the first time
we'll have seen families
indoors since march but as prime
minister boris johnson put it to the
season to be jolly
it is also a season to be jolly careful
and there are concerns we risk
undoing the gains made in november's
lockdown
so for some the question this christmas
is not can we meet loved ones
it should we i think people deserve a
bit of a break
i mean i understand the implication but
i know given the citizens of this
country there would be a
they would do it anyway so the
government i thought had to back down
i am spending it just with my boyfriend
and uh it's actually going to be a nice
change because when everyone gets
together that's usually a recipe for
disaster
i don't have any plans i'm afraid i'm
waiting to be invited to places
christmas will not be cancelled this
year in bethlehem
said to be the birthplace of jesus but
it will be completely different because
of the corona pandemic
everything here is much quieter just
here in front of the church of the
nativity
this is usually the busiest time of the
year for the palestinian town
there are no foreign visitors because
israel is still banning foreigners from
entering the country
and thus the occupied territories as
well
it is unclear whether palestinian
christians from other parts of the west
bank and israel
will be able to take part in the
festivities
the palestinian authority has recently
imposed a new nighttime lockdown
to help curb a new spike in infection
rates
but while celebrations will be severely
scaled back
people here say they still want to send
a message of hope
from bethlehem to the rest of the world
i'm at sydney's iconic bondi beach it's
crowded but if you look more closely
beachgoers are practicing social
distancing on the sand
here in australia there is very little
community transmission
and to the relief of many covert
restrictions are easing in time for
christmas
but the country's international borders
remain closed
while this festive season will be
overshadowed by the pandemic
australia's success in virtually
stamping out the virus means many are
beginning to see the light
at the end of the tunnel i think it'd be
nice to sort of get back together with
everyone
um you know a lot of people have been
separated for a while
and definitely had my period where i
couldn't see my family so
i'll definitely be sort of centering in
on that for sure i wasn't planning on
celebrating here at all
i was planning on going home but um yeah
even here i definitely think it's
changed
um it's gonna be a little bit easier i
think just because the
restrictions have kind of relaxed a
little but
earlier on in the year i was really
worried about if i was going to be able
to
travel to my friends here in australia
now we can have more people
each time it's a bit better and it will
get better and better
by the time hanukkah comes it's another
2-3 weeks
like christmas and it will be ok
christmas and new year's night were
always family celebrations in my
childhood during the soviet union people
get together for a meal at home
watch soviet films and eat but in the
last few years that changed and russians
discovered street festivals
this year everything has to change again
because mass meetings outside
are prohibited new year's night will be
intimate and small again
just like in my childhood with one
exception which is
ice skating that remains allowed in
moscow this year despite the pandemic
from my point of view the most beautiful
place for it is here
in the legendary gorky park
usually we all get together as a big
family with our parents too but this
time we're avoiding that because they're
seniors so unfortunately we'll celebrate
without them
changed our plans we wanted to go skiing
in europe but now we're going to sochi
probably with about 20 million other
muscovites
i'm going to celebrate at my cabin as
usual the coronavirus doesn't really
change anything for me
normally we travel to madrid on
christmas eve and stay for a few days
this year we have to celebrate at home
but we'll have entertainment from our
grandson
where there are children there's
christmas
we'd like to organize a big party with
our friends but i don't think that's
possible
so home family that's all there is to it
[Music]
usually we celebrate with many relatives
from all over
my big extended family now this year it
will be only our closest circle
my daughters and my husband
here in the spanish city of sevilla the
christmas lights that you see behind me
stay off at the moment even at night the
city administration is afraid
of big crowds that might come and watch
them
the general restrictions for christmas
here in spain are not clear yet
but everybody knows this will be a very
different festive season
even in my own family which is partly
german and partly spanish
we don't know what to do yet and if we
will be able to meet each other at
all not really of course it would be
nicer to go to the christmas market but
i think these measures are sensible and
more important now
next year we can catch up on our
traditions again so i have no problem
it's difficult we usually celebrate with
my husband's side and also
my side together now we have to split
everything up
so that fewer households come together
already as a pharmacy employee i always
have to be very cautious
not to bring the virus home so there's
no choice but to split things up this
year
with my family we've all agreed to take
coronavirus tests before we meet at home
and if they all turn out negative we
come together if not then not or in
smaller groups
i want to hug my family again i miss
that
normally at this time of year the place
behind me would look totally different
there would be lots of christmas market
stands and the smell of roasted ailments
everywhere to get you in the mood but
what i personally miss the most this
december
is meeting friends in the evening and
drinking mulled wine together
the only thing that cheers me up this
year is mulled wine to go
cheers and merry christmas
you