Christmas isn’t ‘cancelled’ – and we need strong leadership to remind us of that

I wish politicians would not use the word “cancel” when talking about the grim reality of this Christmas. You are right (Leader, 20 December), we need leadership, and in this particular case leadership to look on the brighter side of life.

It is pretty obvious that you cannot experience good without the experience of bad. The bad for most people this year will be not seeing family in the flesh. The bad for some people, and it is very bad, will be the death of a member of the family, or of a friend, from Covid.

The good however, and in many ways it can be a more intense good because of the bad, is manifold. We can enjoy for instance the Christmas lights that glow in the dark, and also, of course, the many ways of communication that we now have: telephone, FaceTime, email, text, WhatsApp, Twitter, TV, radio, Christmas cards, handwritten letters... there is nothing more heart-warming than sitting in a rocking chair writing a long letter.

Politicians, Christmas is not cancelled, it is different. We need strong leadership to help us appreciate that.

Rachel Greenwood

Bewdley

Each Christmas, we are used to compensating for a fall in household gas pressure as ovens across the country are set for a long roast.

This year, with family members being forced to gather online rather than at the dinner table we might encounter another phenomenon instead.

If we all try to video at once, then our images, rather than the traditional oven flames, could be reduced to a slow flicker by unprecedented network overload.

How about we agree to stagger the online meetups through Christmas Day?

Dr Gordon Brooks

Gosport, Hampshire

Boris Johnson has announced new restrictions to curb the spread of a new mutated variant of Covid-19. I am afraid this will do nothing to contain the coronavirus pandemic. In reality, such measures would only deepen economic, social and cultural injustices so entrenched in our society.  

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London

To all those blaming Boris for cancelling Christmas, you cannot second guess a pandemic. You must go with the science. To ignore the science is inviting disaster. I would sooner be in lockdown than in a coffin.

Andrew Ferguson

Address supplied

Congratulations to retail names such as Asda, Aldi, Lidl and M&S in electing to recognise the true status of Boxing Day as a “second Christmas Day” by closing their doors. More retail names may join them.

Their actions are also extremely sensible and prescient. A two-day retail closure means less accidents and thus less call on doctors and nurses. As the virus continues to bite, the protection of the NHS is an absolute must.

John Barstow

Address supplied

Easy for the likes of Starmer to throw stones at the PM. What else can we expect? We’ve all seen the recent scenes in Regent Street and Oxford Street, so why be at all surprised?

Here in tier 2 – Tavistock, Devon – we are tantalisingly close to a tier 1 Cornwall. Yet I have met no one who has been prepared to dash over the border for a few pints nor not been prepared to have Christmas put on hold in the interests of safety for others as well as themselves. Almost everyone here is wearing face masks in the street and observing social distancing.  

Yet, just yesterday, I met a lady and gentleman sitting maskless outside our market who had just travelled from Fareham for the day. The southeast certainly needs to learn some lessons – and fast. But please don’t come here to do so.

So well done Boris. Not the decision we would really have liked to hear but most certainly the right one.

Tim Baxter

Tavistock, Devon