Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, Christmas activities were simply organized by churches in Can Tho City in compliance with the regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Parishioners in Thanh An Commune, Vinh Thanh District decorate Christmas miniature scenes.

There are 19 churches in Thanh An Commune, Vinh Thanh District, including 12 parishes and 7 sub-parishes. Mr. Tran Quoc Bao, a resident of F1 Hamlet, Thanh An Commune shared, “Christmas decoration is a traditional practice for Catholic families to show their appreciation. The religious are delighted to decorate Christmas cribs and trees with various designs to welcome Christmas and New Year, which strengthens their relationship.” According to Mr. Bao, F1 Hamlet was a long distance from the church. To effectively conduct pandemic prevention and control, he discussed with surrounding homes about contributing around 4 million VND to build a huge Christmas crib in front of his house for neighbors to enjoy during Christmas. Instead of gathering for Christmas feast, prayers and blessings, everyone in the hamlet would come to the Christmas crib and pray for a peaceful new year, following the 5K message.

A small group of parishioners left early in the morning to go to Chau Long Parish to decorate Christmas models and miniature scenes.. Nguyen Nhat Thien An, a resident of F1 Hamlet, Thanh An Commune, said, “Every year, I go to church to help the priests with decorating the Christmas cribs and trees. This year, we are building a large mountain model at the church.”

This Christmas, churches prepared basic decorations to ensure safety in pandemic prevention and control and to avoid large crowds. Priest Phan Dinh Son, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee for Solidarity Catholics of Vietnamese and Chairman of Can Tho City Committee for Solidarity Catholics of Vietnamese, stated, “This year, we are advocating for a "celebration without festivals," which avoids large crowds for pandemic prevention and control. Furthermore, Catholic families are encouraged to make their own Christmas tree. Depending on their financial conditions, they can make a big or simple one, ensuring it is economical and solemn. Christmas trees are a symbol of vitality to overcome hardships and defeat the pandemic.”

According to Mr. Truong Minh Hen, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thanh An Commune, this Christmas came during the nation's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To celebrate Christmas safely and in accordance with the Ministry of Health's directions and guidelines on pandemic prevention and control, localities and churches advised and propagated parishioners to avoid groups of more than ten people and to follow the Ministry of Health's pandemic prevention and control regulations.. Particularly, churches provided hand wash and sanitizer and arranged distances to protect the parishioners’ health.

All Christmas preparations at churches in Can Tho City have been completed so far. To celebrate Christmas and New Year's, parishioners wished that the pandemic would end soon and that everyone would live a peaceful and happy life.

Source: Can Tho News