For a second consecutive year, the world is celebrating Christmas with the threat of COVID-19 dampening the festivities. Many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and others, are experiencing a fresh surge in cases fuelled by the more transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. This ‘variant of concern’ has already become the dominant strain in the US, while the UK is reporting record daily cases everyday. Several countries have limited or cancelled Christmas and New Year gatherings in order to prevent a fresh outbreak. However, the holiday spirit is high and people across the world are celebrating Christmas with fervor.

Indian Christians gather for a midnight Christmas mass at St. Mary’s Basilica in Hyderabad, India, early Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. 
Indian Christians, some wearing face masks as a precaution against the COVID-19, attend a Christmas mass at a church in Ahmedabad, India, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. 
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a Christmas midnight mass at Saint Catherine’s Church, in the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, West Bank Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021.
Residents wearing masks skate on ice during Christmas Day at a mall in Beijing, China, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021.
With the Washington Monument in the background, visitors look at the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington.
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a Christmas midnight Mass at Saint Catherine’s Church, in the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021.
Devotees, wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, attend a Christmas day mass at the Quiapo church in Manila, Philippines on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. 
A churchgoer wears a face mask to curb the spread of the coronavirus as she attends a Mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. 
Christians wearing face masks attend while maintaining social distancing during a Christmas service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021.