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Feliz Navidad? Coronavirus Christmas could limit parties in Spain -newspaper

MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish government is to propose a “different” Christmas and New Year under coronavirus restrictions with just six people at parties, although it hopes the “soul and spirit” of the season will shine, El Mundo newspaper reported on Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a face mask walks next to closed Sidecar Factory Club, reading on its rolling door “The last concert?”, at Real square, after Spain’s Catalonia region allowed bars, restaurants, gyms and cinemas to reopen from Monday, gradually easing some of the restrictions put in place to tackle the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Barcelona, Spain, November 23, 2020. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Governments across Europe, which accounts for a quarter of reported global infections and deaths, are trying to navigate a fine line between avoiding super-spreading the virus over the holidays while allowing families to celebrate Christmas.

On Tuesday, Spain added 12,228 coronavirus cases to its

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UK’s four nations will relax COVID restrictions to save Christmas

LONDON (Reuters) – The four nations of the United Kingdom have agreed to relax COVID-19 restrictions for Christmas to allow up to three households to meet at home for five days.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have taken differing approaches to handling the pandemic so far but the leaders of the devolved nations reached agreement with London on Tuesday on rules governing the festive period.

Three households will be able to form a “Christmas bubble”, allowing them to meet up at home, places of worship and in outdoor public places but not at indoor hospitality or entertainment venues from Dec. 23 until Dec. 27 under the plans.

“People want to be with their loved-ones and those close to them for what is the most important holiday of the year,” senior minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday.

Limits on travel will also be scrapped so that people can meet up,

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‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’: David E. Talbert Interview

Writer-director David E. Talbert spoke to IndieWire about his 22-year journey to get the holiday movie spectacle produced.

Writer-director David E. Talbert’s new film, “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” is a Netflix musical set in the vibrant fictional town of Cobbleton, and follows renowned toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker) whose whimsical inventions are wondrous. But when his apprentice (Keegan-Michael Key) steals his most prized creation, it’s up to his precocious granddaughter (Madalen Mills) to retrieve all that has been lost. Twenty-two years in the making, it’s an ambitious spectacle that’s unlike anything Talbert — whose previous film credits include dramedies “First Sunday” (2008), “Baggage Claim,” and “Almost Christmas” — has ever done before.

“If you look at my catalog before ‘Jingle Jangle,’ it’s hard to say [that] this same guy was going to do this expensive, epic, visual effects-heavy, period musical, but these are the kinds of films that I

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Husband And Wife Opera Stars John Riesen And Gillian Lynn Cotter Release New Holiday Album, CHRISTMAS AT HOME

Husband And Wife Opera Stars John Riesen And Gillian Lynn Cotter Release New Holiday Album, CHRISTMAS AT HOMEOpera singers and real-life husband and wife John Riesen, tenor, and Gillian Lynn Cotter (Riesen), mezzo-soprano, have compiled a collection of their favorite holiday tunes in the classic styles of Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Michael Buble, and more. CHRISTMAS AT HOME, a collection of beautiful, intimate, and heartfelt carols, will be released on Friday, November 27 on all streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Pandora. Advance review tracks are available!

With the COVID-19 health crisis impacting the live performing arts industry in the US, Riesen and Cotter put their minds to a passion project they’ve long desired to make, a Christmas album of classic songs and duets. To accomplish this, the singers banded together with a family organization in Detroit, Michigan called Box Five Productions and a studio in Lansing, Michigan, Blue Griffin Recording, to produce the album, with hopes to

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Dutch experts advise against easing COVID curbs for Christmas

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch medical experts have advised the government against easing social distancing measures in the run-up to Christmas as a decline of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands has slowed over the past week, broadcaster RTL reported on Tuesday.



a person standing in front of a building: FILE PHOTO: Person arrives to get tested on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the XL test facility, in Utrecht

© Reuters/PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW
FILE PHOTO: Person arrives to get tested on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the XL test facility, in Utrecht

The government’s main coronavirus advisory board said it was too early to contemplate the reopening of bars and restaurants or lifting limits on group sizes for the holiday season, RTL said, citing the committee’s latest confidential advice.

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The experts also said they would try to determine whether the Christmas school holiday would need to be extended in order to bring down the infection rate in the country, as a growing number of children were testing positive for COVID-19.

There was no immediate comment from

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Meghan Trainor can’t wait for her baby’s first Christmas in 2021



Meghan Trainor holding a sign

© Bang Showbiz
Meghan Trainor

Meghan Trainor is looking forward to her unborn son’s first Christmas next year.

The 26-year-old pop star admitted she would have loved to have given birth to her first child with husband Daryl Sabara around the festive period, but as her baby is due in February 2021, she’s counting down the days until they can enjoy their first Christmas as a family of three.

Speaking on Boston’s MAGIC 106.7 radio station, Meghan said: “I’m a Christmas baby. I wanted that, but we didn’t achieve that goal for a minute. But, mine’s (due in) February.”

On the family traditions she will continue with her son, she added: “I think Christmas Eve is better because that’s when we get with the family and we give our gifts to each other … Usually we like to have the kids have their

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BBC ‘pulled out the stops’ to film Christmas TV



a group of people that are standing in the snow: Call the Midwife filmed its Christmas special under coronavirus restrictions

© BBC
Call the Midwife filmed its Christmas special under coronavirus restrictions

Doctor Who, Call the Midwife and Mrs Brown’s Boys are among the shows that will be in this year’s Christmas TV schedule, the BBC has revealed.

It has been “a real struggle” to make the usual range of festive shows during Covid, the BBC’s Charlotte Moore said.

But, she added, the stars and crews “pulled out all the stops”.

“Some of the big talent and the production teams have rallied together, and we feel it’s really important to have a good Christmas.”



James Fleet, Dawn French looking at the camera: The Vicar of Dibley will return in three 10-minute lockdown-inspired episodes

© BBC
The Vicar of Dibley will return in three 10-minute lockdown-inspired episodes

The BBC’s Christmas TV line-up includes special episodes The Goes Wrong Show, Ghosts, Not Going Out, King Gary, Motherland and the return of The Vicar of Dibley.

Miranda Hart will host a one-off celebrity game show, and there

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World’s ‘first ever’ Christmas song for dogs released and they are barking mad for it

The song’s reggae beat has sounds like doorbells, whistles and human commands.

November 23, 2020, 12:26 PM

8 min read

With just over a month until Christmas and many people still wondering how they will spend the season amid the pandemic, one company is making sure your canine companion has something to bark about during the festive season by releasing a Christmas song scientifically designed for dogs.

The people behind the song — released on Nov. 18 and aptly titled “Raise the Woof!” — claim that it is the world’s first Christmas song for dogs and that it has been specifically recorded for dog’s ears based on scientific studies of sounds that elicit positive reactions from them, according to dog food company Tails.com.

Over the past two months, music producers tested over 500 different sounds on dogs in a focus

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Why Christmas on the Square is the holiday movie 2020 needs, according to Dolly Parton and co.



Dolly Parton, Jeanine Mason are posing for a picture: Netflix

© Provided by Entertainment Weekly
Netflix

Dolly Parton has had a busy few months: She released a holiday album, casually funded a COVID vaccine, and now, she produces and stars in the Netflix musical Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square — for which she also wrote 14 festive tunes.

“I love all the Christmas shows on TV, all the Christmas specials — and especially any Christmas musical, and this is my first Christmas musical,” Parton tells EW. “I had the chance to write 14 original new songs, and hearing all these wonderful artists sing them was a real joy for me.”

Among them is Christine Baranski, who stars as Regina Fuller, a Scroogeian figure set on selling her small midwestern town, Fullerville, to make way for an enormous mega-mall. As Regina distributes a pile of eviction notices right before Christmas, her former best friend (Jenifer Lewis), high school boyfriend

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The Grinchiest Grinches of Christmas Past

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, NBC is bringing the magic of Dr. Seuss’ world to life in a new musical production airing next month! Matthew Morrison will star as the title role in “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!” set to air Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT from the Troubadour Theatre in London.

Dr. Seuss’ beloved classic children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” has become a Christmas staple for generations. This musical version, with book and lyrics by Tim Mason and music by Mel Marvin and featuring the hit songs “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas” (by Albert Hague & Dr. Seuss), breathes new life into this timeless story.

Beyond its Broadway productions, the musical has had quite a history, and while we await the new television version of the musical, let’s look back on some of the iconic Grinch performances of the past!

Dr. Seuss’

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