(AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)BRUSSELS โ Please leave a chair empty at this year's family Christmas dinner as a precaution, or face the possibility of having that chair empty forever.
That's the stark dilemma Belgium's prime minister has set to urge smaller festive family gatherings, as Europeans battle with containing the surging COVID-19 pandemic over the holiday season.
Britain, with the continent's highest death rate at 57,031 yet a Christmas tradition unlike few others, could not resist the temptation of relaxation.
Like Belgium, Italy, where the pandemic initially struck hard in Europe, is taking a hard line at Christmas.
In Oberndorf, home of the world's most famous Christmas carol, they hope its lyrics will not be taken too literally.