COVID puts a damper on Christmas Eve again around the world
By JACK JEFFERY, DAVID McHUGH and BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Associated Press
From Bethlehem and Frankfurt to London and Boston, the surging coronavirus dampened Christmas Eve festivities for a second year. Churches are canceling or scaling back services. Travel plans are being disrupted because of flight cancellations, as the pandemic once again casts a pall on celebrations around the world. Musicians banging drums and playing bagpipes marched through the town of Bethlehem to the delight of smaller than usual crowds. Weary from nearly two years of lockdowns and safety restrictions, holiday celebrants searched for ways to return to rituals that were called off last year.
