Will the pandemic take the merry out of Christmas?

I picked up some novelty fireworks and sparklers at the grocery store the other day because I was thinking about our annual Fourth of July celebration.

We normally spend it in our backyard pool, invite people over, grill burgers and watch the fireworks at Tempe Town Lake from our roof.

It’s one of my favorite traditions.

But like other cities, Tempe canceled the fireworks show because of the coronavirus pandemic. I’ll have to adjust, too.

It’ll likely be the same for my favorite holiday, Halloween, and for Thanksgiving, as COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to climb. The pandemic may mean we’re not in for a very merry Christmas, either.

Two out of three Arizonans don’t expect to spend Christmas with their family, according to a survey of 3,000 Americans and Brits by Christmas.co.uk, a website dedicated to all things Christmas.

The 203 Arizonans in the survey seem more worried than the rest of the country. Overall, 51% of Americans don’t expect to spend Christmas with family, which is slightly more optimistic than the 59% of British people who said the same.

It might all be different this year. Maybe no trick-or-treating at Halloween. Maybe smaller gatherings for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s a shame since, in the same survey, 37% of people said the extended lockdown has brought them closer to their families. We are missing our people.

We’re already making changes. Some of us are sending cards in the mail, singing “Happy Birthday” over video calls and dropping balloons and presents on front porches. We’re watching graduates get their diplomas from our cars.

We’ll keep adapting. Halloween costumes with a different kind of mask. Video calls to sing carols.

Our holiday traditions define us as families, however we make them. We’ll hang onto them as best we can.