The usual Christmas pageants, carols and midnight Masses are being replaced during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic with fast-filling attendance registration forms, services on demand and efforts by an exhausted America to get creative for what’s usually one of the biggest holidays of the year.

A delegation from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) led by Deputy Director of the GCRA’s Catholic Affairs Department Đào Thị Đượm has paid visits to several Catholic dioceses in Northern region ahead of Christmas 2020.

The capital is set to witness the debut of the Hanoi Retro and Rap Christmas Party for Christmas Eve, with the celebration scheduled to get underway at August Revolution Square on the night of December 24.

Politburo member and Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình visited and extended Christmas greetings to Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on December 22.

Politburo member cum Chairwoman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Trương Thị Mai visited the office of Ho Chi Minh city Archdiocese and extended her Christmas greetings to Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Năng and Catholics in the Archdiocese on December 23.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vũ Chiến Thắng visited the Archdiocese of Hue in central Thua Thien-Hue province and met with Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Chí Linh on December 22, ahead of Christmas 2020.

A delegation from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) led by Director of the GCRA’s Protestant Affairs Department Thiều Thị Hương paid visits from December 17-19 to several Christian Churches in Ho Chi Minh City, ahead of Christmas 2020.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Monday tasked the Military Medicine Academy to work with relevant institutions and agencies to draft a vaccine research and development center project and submit to competent authorities for approval.

A delegation from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s Executive Committee in Ho Chi Minh City paid a visit on December 21 to the office of Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese, ahead of Christmas 2020.

National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân paid a visit to Archdiocese of Hue in central Thua Thien-Hue province and met with Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Chí Linh on December 22, ahead of Christmas 2020.

The executive board of Hoa Hao Buddhist Church in Tan Mỹ commune of Dong Thap province’s Thanh Binh district has held a meeting to review its established club for environment protection and climate change in 2020.

Vice Chairwoman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) Trần Thị Minh Nga paid a visit on December 19 to the Evangelical Church of Viet Nam (Southern) in Ho Chi Minh city ahead of Christmas 2020.

Politburo member cum Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Trương Thị Mai visited Thanh Hoa Diocese and extended her Christmas greetings to local Catholics in the province on December 21.

A high-ranking delegation led by Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình extended Christmas greetings to the Hanoi Archdiocese and the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (CSVC) on December 20.

The ninth conference on Khmer Theravada Buddhism was held on December 18 by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) in Phat Ngoc Xa Loi pagoda located in Vinh Long province.