As we all know, Christmas 2020 will be a Christmas like no other. With Coronavirus still ravaging the United Kingdom, measures will be in place to help stop the spread of the disease over the festive period.
However, the UK Government has made arrangements for a 5 day ‘Christmas Break’, where Coronavirus restrictions will be slightly relaxed so as to allow families to spend time with each other, something which has been sorely lacking for many.
In this blog, I will look at what these rules entail, as well as other aspects which will make Christmas 2020 the first – and hopefully last – Christmas of this manner in our lifetimes.
At the time of writing, the UK’s current lockdown will end on Wednesday 2nd December, after which the country will go back into the tier system which was already in place when the second lockdown began on the 5th November.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the public that these restrictions will be more strictly enforced than the previous tier system, and also that Tier 3 – the highest of the tiers – will be more widespread that it was in the first instance, where few places in the UK such as Liverpool and Manchester were put into Tier 3.
But over the five day period between December 23rd and 27th, to quote the
UK Government website: “Travel restrictions across the four administrations and between tiers will be lifted to provide a window for households to come together.
“Up to three households can form an exclusive ‘bubble’ to meet at home during this period. When a bubble is formed it is fixed, and must not be changed or extended further at any point.
“Each Christmas bubble can meet at home, at a place of worship or an outdoor public place, but existing, more restrictive rules on hospitality and meeting in other venues will be maintained throughout this period.”
The Christmas rules have been designed around families meeting up over the festive period, whilst being limited to seeing two other households. This will hopefully go some way in helping combat Christmas loneliness, which is a problem every year, let alone in a year where we’ve all been keeping our distance.
Residents of the UK will also be allowed to travel to other countries within it to meet up with family and friends. This is another change from the norm, as during the whole of 2020 there have been strict rules on travelling to other countries within the UK to stop the spread of Coronavirus, particularly people travelling from England – which has been much worse hit – to Scotland and Wales.
Being able to meet at a place of worship is another small change which will mean the world to some people, particularly around Christmas, when religion is more prevalent around the UK than it is at any other time of year. Small Christmas Eve Masses and other events which have been massively affected over the course of the year will now be able to take place between December 23rd and December 27th.
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