Christmas celebration in Cua Bac church in Hanoi (Photo: Duc Anh/ VOV5)

The dioceses in Hai Phong city and Quang Ninh province in the North are beautifully decorated. At 6 p.m on Christmas Eve, many Catholic followers gathered at church for masses. Mr. Nguyen Cong Toan of the Hai Phong diocese, said: “The church is beautifully decorated and masses, prayers and Christmas carol performances take place in different times of the day, so more people can attend”.

Quang Ninh province welcomes Christmas with artificial snow, a giant Christmas tree at  the Sun World recreation center, and Christmas-themed food streets.

In Da Nang city in the central region, people have come out to the streets despite cold and rainy weather. Ms. Nguyen Nga of  Hai Chau district, said: “Christmas is celebrated not only by Catholics but also by many other people. We all wish one another a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.

Worldwide, coronavirus misery hung over Christmas preparations on Thursday, with countless millions forced to cancel plans or limit festivities under fresh virus lockdowns.

In Bethlehem -- which Christians believe is the birthplace of Jesus Christ -- mass will be held without worshipers and broadcast online.

In Europe, much of the continent is enduring a dark winter of resurgent outbreaks.

Pope Francis plans to bring the Vatican's Christmas midnight mass forward by two hours to meet Italy's curfew rules.

Britons were cut off from the world due to the emergence of a new COVID-19 strain.

In the Catholic-majority Philippines some are choosing to spend the holidays alone because of the risk of catching the virus on public transport, as well as quarantine rules making travelling time-consuming and expensive.