Santa Claus is not coming to town. With the arrival of November, the Christmas period is almost upon us, but this year unfortunately the traditional cheerfulness and lightheartedness typical of Christmas it will be replaced by a darker sadness. L'Covid-19 emergency has changed our habits and, unfortunately, will continue to do so for a long time to come. With the new Prime Ministerial Decree of 3 November, the government has divided Italy into three zones (yellow, orange and red) and has placed strong restrictions, such as the closure of restaurants and bars, the curfew from 22pm to 5am and banned the organization of fairs and congresses. This type of measure has therefore also affected the traditional Christmas-themed activities, which usually take place between the end of November and the beginning of December. In the past few weeks there have been many i canceled Christmas markets, but now the stop to these events has been made official throughout Italy.
Major canceled events in Italy
Il Marché Vert Noël di Aosta, located in the archaeological area of the Roman theater, this year will not be held. However it is possible that an alternative event will be organized, depending on the provisions that the government will give from 3th December (expiry of the current DPCM). In Trentino Alto Adige, the governor Arno Kompatscher stated that all Christmas-themed events in the region are canceled to ensure greater safety against possible coronavirus infections. TO Trento e Bolzano, the canceled Christmas markets will be a huge economic damage. In fact, thousands of tourists go to the two cities every year to admire the various wooden houses scattered around the city and to make their purchases. Also Verona, the city of Romeo e Giulietta, had to stop the suggestive markets of Piazza dei Signori. The mayor gave the news Federico Sboarina, worried about the worsening of the infections from Covid-19.
These are just a few examples of cities in which this type of measures to avoid gatherings have already been announced, but many other mayors have already thought of the same type of measures for the Christmas period, from Piemonte up to Sicilia. The idea is to avert a second national lockdown, like the one announced by Emmanuel Macron in France in recent days.
Christmas markets canceled in Europe
Covid 19 has not only undermined Christmas events in Italy. In the list of Christmas markets canceled in 2020 there are also some of the most famous events in a foreign land. First of all marchés de Noël di Strasbourg (France). The "capital of Christmas”This year he will only keep the lighting and animations active, while he will have to give up the traditional chalets. Nuremberg e Neighborhood (Germany) announced the stop to the events due to the coronavirus. As with Strasbourg, this is a major blow to the economy, as the two German cities attract millions of visitors during this period. Also Locarno (Switzerland) had to abandon the idea of markets in the Old Town to prevent the contagion curve from continuing to grow. Finally the Christmas village di Rovaniemi (Finland), saw a drop in visitors (78% fewer than the previous year) due to Covid 19.
Humanity is going through a terrible year, marked by a dangerous invisible enemy who is claiming more and more victims every day. It is necessary to do the necessary ed avoid gatherings to ensure that the situation does not become increasingly dramatic and unsustainable. The government is therefore likely to vary new emergency measures to avoid a new general lockdown in Italy. Even if the Christmas it will not be the same as in other years, perhaps far from loved ones, it is necessary to protect the safety and health of everyone, hoping that Covid-19 will soon become a tragic memory.
