January 6: Gianluca Vialli (58), Italian footballer, former striker for Juventus and Chelsea, among others. Won the Italian title in 1991 and 1995 and also won the Champions League with Juventus in 1996 in the final against Ajax. January 8: Sietse Bosgra (87), anti-apartheid activist, one of the founders of the Angola Committee, which was later renamed Komitee Southern Africa, which raised a lot of money for the African National Congress (ANC), the long-banned anti-apartheid movement of Nelson Mandela.
DUTCH CITY: Creativity is key this festive season as curfews, lockdowns, travel limitations and other measures taken by governments across the world to curb the spread of Covid-19 could put a real damper on Christmas celebrations.
Dutch citizens, for example, have just entered a tough second lockdown for at least five weeks, with families urged to welcome no more than two visitors over the age of 13, although an exception will be made for three days around Christmas
when they can welcome three.
For believers, the saddest reality is not being able to celebrate the birth of Christ with traditional Carol services and the wonderful Midnight and Christmas Day Masses because singing is not allowed, and because the number of faithful allowed inside churches is so limited.
Dec 15, 2020 special to crux
Shoppers, some queueing outside a store, are seen in Kalverstraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (Credit: Peter Dejong/AP.)
On Monday evening, the Dutch government announced that the current COVID-19 regulations will not be relaxed during the holiday season. This also means only thirty people will be allowed at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
On Monday evening, the Dutch government announced that the current COVID-19 regulations will not be relaxed during the holiday season. This also means only thirty people will be allowed at each church’s Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
The southern Diocese of Roermond in the Netherlands has therefore decided to organize a drive-in Mass on Christmas Eve on a large festival site to give as many people as possible the opportunity to attend Mass that evening.