A picture from better days: St. Nicholas parades like this one will not be found in this pandemic year. In 2020, he will be a solo performer. He, too, must keep his distance and wear a face mask, and can't visit children in schools and kindergartens. He'll also have to strike Christmas markets from his agenda, because they're closed this year.

The diocese of Essen sends the holy man to day care centers, homes or to offices via video meetings. The dates can be booked online. During the virtual visit, the St. Nicholas performers tell the story of the early Christian bishop, talk to the children and listen to songs and poems.

This St. Nicholas — who incidentally is called Sinterklaas in the Netherlands — has opted for the open-air option. The city of Vorden has organized a circuit on which people can get as close to the legendary saint as is currently allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic. After all, his mission has remained unchanged for centuries: to make people happy.

Nicholas was a Greek bishop in the 4th century. He lived in Myra, which is now Demre in Turkey. According to legend, he is said to have distributed all his wealth among the poor. For his good acts, he was canonized by the Catholic Church. Nowadays he is often confused with Santa Claus. But the secular version doesn't appear with the symbols of a bishop, namely a staff and a miter hat.

In addition, St. Nicholas is way ahead of Santa Claus in terms of time: He already surprises children with small gifts on December 6, thus shortening the waiting period for them until Santa Claus delivers his present on December 24.

In Belgium, St. Nicholas traditionally arrives in November by steamship from Spain and is given a warm welcome. This year the walk through the crowd was canceled. But in a letter, the Belgian government assured the children that St. Nicholas would not have to go into quarantine and would be able to deliver his presents despite a nighttime curfew.

Social distancing? Not necessary for these gentlemen! Edible St. Nicholases have been around since 1820, and the first examples were still made entirely by hand out of chocolate. Nowadays, the chocolate Christmas figures are cast in molds and hollow inside. Around 150 million are produced in Germany every year.

Children in Germany eagerly clean their boots and place them by the door on the evening of December 5. If they were good during the year, the boots are filled with sweet treats in the morning. If not, they will find a thatched rod. Either way, they can be sure that St. Nicholas will do his work reliably this year — despite the coronavirus.

The Holstentor Gate without a twinkling light? Unthinkable! The seasonal decorations in the old town of Lübeck with Christmas trees, fairy lights and garlands create a pre-Christmas atmosphere, even if the traditional Christmas market had to be cancelled.

In many major German cities, the boulevards are festively illuminated in the pre-Christmas period, like the trees on the Jungfernstieg quay in Hamburg. Instead of Christmas markets, individual stalls have been set up in the Hanseatic city.

Christmas spirit despite coronavirus restrictions is also the theme in the Hanseatic city of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony. The markets have also been canceled here. Instead, the festive lighting in Lüneburg's alleys and in front of the town hall (pictured) is intended to put strollers in a festive mood.

The German capital's many neighborhoods usually have their own Christmas market. The big markets like the one at Charlottenburg Palace or on the Gendarmenmarkt have been canceled long ago; smaller ones may still have some stalls. What definitely remains are the illuminated boulevards, including Unter den Linden, Tauentzienstrasse (photo) and Friedrichstrasse.

The pre-Christmas season 2020 is very different, as can be seen from the emptiness on the large squares in city centers. They can also become more radiant, like the Christmas-lit Augustusplatz in Leipzig. The cups for mulled wine usually sold at the Christmas market can be purchased online this year, the city says.

The Erfurt Christmas market, which in 2020 would have been the 170th one, has also been cancelled. Instead, the Christmas tree and the Christmas pyramid on the square in front of St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Severus Church will be all the more impressive.

Sometimes an illuminated Christmas tree is enough to mark the festive season. When the medieval center has been so charmingly reconstructed as around the Prinzipalmarkt in Münster, a Westphalian town, the city can only profit from it, maybe not from sales revenues, but in terms of atmosphere.

Bochum is also sparkling. And the elk family on the central Dr.-Ruer-Platz square has grown and developed into a small pack. By the way, some retailers of the canceled Christmas market were able to move into empty stores to offer their goods.

In front of the city hall, on the central Römerberg in Frankfurt, a lonely pine tree is a reminder that the Christmas market had to be canceled in the banking metropolis as well. This year's Christmas tree is a 21-meter (69-foot) spruce from the Gröbminger Land region of Austria. The impressive tree actually had to be cut down for a stream restoration.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, too, fairy lights and Christmas trees are to create an atmosphere to make up for the Christmas markets that were canceled due to the coronavirus restrictions. In Mainz, fairy lights on the market square in front of the 1,000-year-old St. Martin's Cathedral make the unusual emptiness a little more bearable.

Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt is probably Germany's most famous Christmas market. From the gallery of the Frauenkirche (photo), the "Christ Child" was supposed to open the market in 2020. In a video message, the actress who plays the traditional role said after the cancellation: "We will not let this spoil our enjoyment. There is so much that gives us joy, happiness and warmth."

The Christmas lighting on the Schlossplatz square shows meter-high light sculptures like the Stuttgart horse from the city coat of arms. Instead of the cancelled Christmas market, 33 booths and stalls have been set up throughout the city center.