Edinburgh's Christmas Markets continued to prove popular with locals and visitors at the weekend, despite the concerns over the Omicron variant.
On Friday, Nicola Sturgeon had warned that the new Covid strain would become the dominant variant within days, amid fears its high transmission rate could overwhelm the NHS.
Although no restrictions are currently imposed on the size of gatherings or crowds, the First Minister had asked the public to try and defer their work Christmas night out.
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However, despite the concerns over the fast infection rate of Omicron, hundreds of people were still pictured at the Christmas markets over the weekend.
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Pictures taken both on Saturday and Sunday (December 12) have shown large tightly packed crowds making their way through the festive stalls, with visitors appearing un-phased by the number of people.
Spread over both sides of Princes Street Gardens, the children's 'santa land' area can be found in west gardens while the markets themselves are next to the National Gallery.
However, the festive feeling could still change after Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf stated it is very likely further restrictions will be imposed.
Although unclear about what these could be, it is expected that the Scottish Government will give an update this week following the sped up vaccine roll out.
