A Covid Christmas
Going into the exciting holidays coming up soon in the next week or so, being New Years and Christmas there are a lot of things to take into account this year. Covid has really impacted Christmas in 2020 due to the current situation we're all living in at this moment. We can’t exactly gather in these huge groups, like we used to be able to. We all have to be aware of these circumstances and work around them so we can still enjoy the holidays including, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years or whatever you celebrate.
There are many things to take into account this year, with terms of social distancing, we can’t really gather into groups for holidays. Also if people are going to end up shopping in stores or all online, which evidently impacts many stores/malls and shops which are already struggling enough during this tough time. In terms of Christmas shopping personally, many people think online shopping is the safest option which I agree with. Although that does change many things, especially in terms of “Christmas spirit” which many people feel is lacking this year. That goes onto another point that is important in this time being, are you excited for Christmas even though there are many things that have changed this year with it? Grace Esposito, a student from Harborfields, commented on this by saying “I'm not sure. Since there's no Christmas spirit this year from anyone whatsoever! Also not being able to be with some of my family, which makes me sad and takes away from the Christmas spirit.”
This is a really great point, because the way we are all living right now is in such uncertain times. As negative or disappointing this may sound, things are not the same to how they used to be. So we have to adapt to this for the holidays for what's safe. Although we can make the most of what we have, and appreciate what we have and all the people around us. This year almost took the materialistic nature out of Christmas, and turned it into just being grateful with what you have in the moment. Just for your life, and not taking that for granted. So as tough as this may be for everyone, that is a great and positive thing we're all getting out of this. Along with the fact that, we can still make the most of Christmas or whichever holiday you celebrate. We can still have Christmas spirit, and enjoy the holidays as long as we take the safety precautions that are needed.
When thinking to myself will many people be gathering in a big group, like they would've done in the past years, I'm thinking no would be the answer to this for most people. This is because of the restrictions with the amount of people you can have together, and with the increase in Covid cases at this time. A question related to this being, do you feel like Christmas will be the same or different this year? Harborfields student, Gavin Sandel said “It has definitely put a wrench into my usual plans. This year I'll have to cut some of the usual things I do each year, simply because of the Coronavirus''. Most of us I'm sure feel this way, and are just adapting to the way things are now but are still trying to enjoy the most of what we can do during this time.
Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, and brings joy on everyone's faces. It lights up everyone's time of the year, and brings family and friends together to enjoy the holidays together which is such a great thing. So when thinking about this, it brings me to a point where I wonder if people feel like Christmas will be the same or different this year. Grace Esposito from Harborfields commented on this by saying, “I feel like it will be different this year. Since a lot of people can’t travel to see their loved ones, or celebrate certain traditions they have.” Grace has a very good point with this, being that the traditions I'm sure have changed for many people and were all just adapting the way things are now. As long as we just keep focusing on what's important, and enjoying those things to the fullest we can we will still make the most of Christmas. This for all the holidays as well going on now or coming up soon!
It's all about your outlook on it all, and having a positive attitude and perspective which will correlate to also creating more Christmas spirit. I think this holiday season will definitely be very different, for everyone and unusual to usual times. But I think it will be a valuable time, and one to definitely remember. It will bring us gratitude to be thankful, for what we have, and never take advantage of that. The whole point of Christmas is to bring families together, and even if it's just some of your family. We can still create a positive and exciting holiday by following the guidelines. While still trying to enjoy it to the best of our ability, at this point of the world we're all adapting and living in currently.
