Churches and cathedrals nationwide will hold Christmas services and mass on Sunday with no attendance restrictions for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

According to the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul, Archbishop Chung Soon-taek will officiate a mass at 12 a.m. Sunday at Myeongdong Cathedral and deliver a Christmas message. This year there will be no restrictions on the congregation size.

Cardinal You Heung-sik, a minister at the Vatican currently visiting South Korea on vacation, will preside over a Christmas mass at 8 p.m. Saturday at a Catholic church in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.

The Protestant community is also gearing up for Christmas celebrations.

The Yoido Full Gospel Church will have six Christmas services from 7 a.m. Sunday with no limits on participants, unlike last year.

An association of progressive Protestant churches and Christian organizations will host a joint service at Seoul train station plaza on Sunday afternoon. Offerings gathered will be donated to residents of nearby slums.