NEW HOLIDAY TRADITIONS IN THE TIME OF COVID- 19

Each family has them: Traditions handed down from one generation to the next, or perhaps special traditions that you created for your family that you look forward to every year. These are most prevalent during the holidays.

My family is no exception. For the past 23 years, my husband and I have hosted the Christmas day festivities for family and friends. Each year, it seems that the numbers grow, as kids from one generation grow up, marry and have their own kids. We usually end up with 50 or so people, at some point during the course of the day. And we love it.

We have never considered not hosting it … until 2020. Due to COVID- 19, we have made that difficult decision to cancel the in- person gathering. And it is disappointing.

This is just one example. You likely have a similar story, perhaps vacation traditions or birthday gatherings or Thanksgiving gatherings that did not or will not happen. Our traditions are sidelined. But that’s just it — sidelined, but not terminated. Good traditions will never go away. They will just take a year off.

COVID- 19 is a lot like the Grinch. Though it’s trying to steal Christmas, it will not succeed. If you think of that wonderful holiday program, the Grinch found out that Christmas isn’t found in a store. Neither are any of our other traditions.

So, it is not the physical aspects of our traditions that are most important. It is not the massive amounts of food or the gift exchanges or even watching the football games. No, it’s not the stuff. It’s the people. It’s your family, your friends.

So, maybe it’s time to get creative. Maybe it’s time to invent some new traditions. No, I don’t mean forget about those sacred family traditions, I just mean

put them on a shelf for now ( maybe next to the proverbial Elf!) and store them safely until it is safe for them to return.

Yes, it hurts. Yes, we will miss them greatly. But they are not going away. They are merely taking a year off. They will be back in all their splendor. Just give them time. And give yourself time.

Take a deep breath. And just think: no marathon housecleaning sessions, no baking for days on end. It is not by choice, of course. But still, take a deep breath and put that energy to good use, think of alternate

ways to celebrate the holidays safely.

There are, of course, many venues for keeping in touch with technology. You can get together via Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, Facebook Messenger … all great ways to spend time virtually with your family members. You can watch football games together or sing Christmas carols together, you can even bake cookies together, all virtually. And you can even open gifts together on Christmas morning.

Create some new traditions: drive- by Christmas caroling or an old- fashioned cookie exchange

— we can still enjoy family time. Perhaps leave a container of cookies at you’re the doors of family and friends, a nice surprise when they open the door.

Just because we cannot get together in person does not mean we cannot spend time together, virtually. And this time next year, we’ll have some good stories to tell at our holiday gatherings about how we survived the 2020 Grinch – COVID 19.

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COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES As the coronavirus pandemic continues, COVID- 19 is the Grinch that’s trying to steal our Christmas traditions this year. To cope, try and create some ways to celebrate safely.