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Osnabrück / Hanover / Hildesheim (dpa / lni) - Full churches, powerful singing from the parishes and an impressive liturgy: Christmas always attracts many people to the houses of God who otherwise never come to church.
But because of the corona pandemic, everything will be different this year.
The number of those present is capped, singing is prohibited.
But the believers do not have to forego services.
"There is a lot you can enjoy from home," says Rebekka Neander, spokeswoman for the Evangelical Church in Hanover.
It is clear that the believers have to register if they want to attend a church service, and that it can be good not to get any more places.
"Nobody should just go to their church or parish as they did in previous years," emphasizes Neander.
Before doing this, everyone has to find out what offers are available and register for face-to-face events.
All of this is regulated by the parishes themselves, both in the Protestant Church and in the Catholic dioceses.
"Individual masses in smaller churches are already full, but in the cathedral we have more options because there are also more services," says Marita Moro from the parish office of the Osnabrück cathedral community.
But that could change quickly - interested parties should best call the parish office directly.
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Anyone who wants to go to church and has managed to get a seat, however, will not experience a traditional service.
"There are distance rules, people have to wear mouth and nose protection and they are not allowed to sing," explains Thomas Arzner from the press office of the Diocese of Osnabrück.
The contact details must also be entered.
The hygiene rules that the legislature issued in view of the corona pandemic also apply to church visits.
Some parishes also offer more services, for example in Hildesheim Cathedral, says diocese spokesman Volker Bauerfeld.
Open-air events are also planned, for example for church services or activities in which the congregation walks through the village in a kind of nativity play or a pastor wants to preach from a tractor, says Neander.
However, it is recommended to take a look at the Internet beforehand.
For example, the Catholic parish community in Bissendorf near Osnabrück canceled all services at short notice until December 30th due to the current Corona situation.
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In any case, the Osnabrück Bishop Franz-Josef Bode would like a service to be celebrated if possible.
But also with the streaming of the church services a possibility has been created to celebrate Christmas: "I think that is a very good form that we have found."
For those who do not come to church, the congregations have come up with digital offers.
Video streaming of church services, interactive offers, podcasts, spiritual newsletters - here too the congregations are creative.
"We will experience Christmas in an unprecedented form, insofar as we have never had so many different forms and formats," says Neander.
"The people are very creative and try to make spiritual offers that people somehow carry through this difficult time," says Bauerfeld.
Different Christmas formats in the Diocese of Hildesheim
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Different Christmas Landeskirche Hannover
Diocese of Osnabrück for Christmas 2020
Service canceled in Bissendorf