Yuletide Fear: Europe cuts back amid Xmas gloom - BusinessWeek

Yuletide Fear: Europe cuts back amid Xmas gloom - BusinessWeek: "Greeks dodge riots to do their Christmas shopping. Italians planning holiday feasts quietly stuff freezers. And the needy in Ireland are literally selling the family silver.

This Christmas, Europeans are hunkering down to an uncertain future, as a debt crisis that erupted last year in Greece flares anew in Ireland, and has quickly threatened to engulf Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

A whole way of life appears to be at stake as Europe's cherished social welfare nets begin to unravel -- and the very survival of the common currency is thrown into doubt.

The new age of austerity is forcing jittery Europeans to tighten belts they've grown accustomed to loosening during the festive holiday season. But there's been as much Santa as Scrooge as families find ingenious ways to stay in the spirit of giving.

Here's how struggling Europeans are coping."

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