Facing Christmas lockdown, Germany says no singing in church, no mulled wine and no New Year's fireworks

This country is bracing for comparatively cheerless Christmas and holiday season under lockdown after mounting restrictions in recent months failed to suppress the spread of the coronavirus.

New measures - announced Sunday by Chancellor Angela Merkel and set to take effect Wednesday - resemble the country's hard lockdown in spring, with most retail stores set to close and most schools pivoting to remote learning.

As recently as last month, European leaders had raised hopes for a degree of normality over Christmas. But with Christmas Eve 10 days off, the dire reality of the pandemic is undeniable. Strict shutdowns are set to return or are being pondered in Germany, parts of Britain, the Netherlands and elsewhere on the continent.

Germany Chancellor Merkel on Sunday said social contact had "risen considerably" as a result of Christmas shopping, resulting in an "urgent need to take action."

Officials appealed to Germans to refrain from rushing to gift shops before they close Wednesday. "I wish and I hope that people will only buy what they really need, like groceries," Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said late Sunday. "The faster we get these infections under control, the better it is for everyone."

Private gatherings will be limited to five people from no more than two separate households, though households in most parts of the country will get a temporary reprieve over Christmas, when they will be allowed to host up to four adult relatives, plus children. Germany is not instituting a ban on religious services, but all attendees must register in advance.

The restrictions are expected to last at least through Jan. 10.

At a barber shop in Berlin, the phone rang nonstop Monday morning, while customers hoping for last-minute trims lined up outside. Streets in the capital remained somewhat crowded.

Germany's tougher guidelines will also include a ban on fireworks sales and public gatherings on New Year's Eve. Officials said they hoped to avoid the typical spate of fireworks-related injuries over the holiday, given that hospitals are already overburdened.

Germany had initially opted for a more relaxed response to the second wave of the virus in Europe than many other European nations did, amid hopes that the country could keep its economy humming over the winter in the wake of one of the worst economic downturns in living memory. Last month, Germany closed theaters, museums and other venues, and ordered restaurants and bars to switch to takeout, but allowed other aspects of normal life to continue.

While some countries in Europe that imposed strict lockdowns in October or November saw case numbers drop in recent weeks, Germany's infection rate only leveled off, before starting to surge again.

Germany recorded 181 new infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days, compared to 122 in France and 60 in Spain, even though infection rates are still over two times lower in Germany than in the United States.

Germany reported fewer per capita infections in spring than many of its European neighbors, but what was seen as a key reason for its success in spring - the federal system that empowered regional leaders to take action and allowed for quick mass testing programs - has hampered the coherence of country's response to the second wave.

The new rules announced Sunday were the result of difficult discussions between Merkel and the leaders of the country's 16 federal states, which had for weeks struggled to find common ground on a nationwide lockdown because infection rates differ across the country.

Unable to enforce such a lockdown on her own, Merkel appealed to state leaders in an emotional address to Parliament last week. "If we have too many contacts now before Christmas, and that ends up making it the last Christmas with the grandparents, then we will have failed," she said.