What Will a Covid Christmas Look Like? by Eleanor Shepherd

             

   I think we are all wondering what Christmas is going to look like for us this year.  It will be different from our usual customs in so many ways because of Covid and the way that it has impacted our lives this year.

                For many of us there will be sadness at the renewed realization that someone we love is no longer with us, snatched from us in a most ungracious manner by this disease or another. We will mourn not only the loss of their presence with us, but also an inadequate opportunity to pay tribute to their life and memory in the way we would have wanted to do. We have not been able to hear about their kind deeds and friendly acts from friends and colleagues in the way we so often do when we meet for a memorial service to honour their memory.

                We will also realize that there are living relatives that we hoped to spend this Christmas with, but because of the isolation imposed upon us by Covid we will not be able to meet together in our usual large family gatherings, because of the risk of us infecting one another and then having to bear the guilt of that particularly if older members of the family become the victims.

                Children and grandchildren will be robbed of time to hear the stories of past Christmases from parents and grandparents and laugh together at some of the fun times that were had and cry together about disappointments experienced. Does that mean that Christmas will be all doom and gloom this year?  

                I don’t think it has to be. We can choose. We can make the most of some of the positive aspects of a Covid Christmas. Are there some? Let’s think about it.

                Covid will force us to keep our gatherings smaller and more manageable and we will not have to run around until the last minute making sure that we have everything just right. Hopefully we have learned during our lockdowns, that we really do not need all that we have. Many of us have spent the time at home profitably in ridding ourselves of acquired goods and chattel that we really do not need. With the peace and calm the lack of clutter has brought into our living spaces, hopefully we can remember that more important than the things we have are those who are with us. Then we can focus more fully on relationship time, instead of trying to impress those who know us so well that we do not fool them. That would take so much of the fuss and bother out of our Christmas preparations. We will be able to enjoy the beauty of simplicity.

                We may also arrive at the day of our Christmas celebration, not bone tired from the obligatory attendance at so many festive events that have filled our calendar. They may have been spectacular and enjoyable but were also exhausting and we often found ourselves running on adrenaline. This year we will be able to watch them on Zoom or YouTube and relax in our homes at the same time with our family or a close friend. 

 

                 Perhaps this year the gift giving frenzy will also be diminished with purchasing just a few things that we think those we love will really appreciate. We have the option of going on line and ordering something for family who cannot be with us and can connect with them electronically to watch them open our gift. Reduced shopping fatigue and careful unhurried selection of gifts will also impact the headaches in January when the bills come in. This will enable us to begin 2021 in a more positive and hopeful frame of mind.

                Hopefully when Christmas is over and we are able to begin receiving the Covid vaccine we will be aware that there have been some significant benefits to this unusual and challenging time. Like most of the difficult experiences we have in life, in choosing to face up to the challenges we will discover within ourselves a new depth of character that makes us people who are more attuned to the needs of others. My hope is that we will realize that this growth was fostered by a divine purpose for our good, in negative circumstances, and we have not gone through this alone. The Christ of Christmas has been with us.