Christmas will be a different affair this year

Dreams of a white Christmas will be parked to one side this year as we simply yearn for a normal one with our families, complete with all the little traditions we have taken for granted for as long as we can remember.

After enduring long, hard months in varying degrees of lockdown – which will soon have spanned all four seasons – we want to be able to reconnect with those closest to us and have something to look forward to during what is likely to be a pretty bleak winter.

So it would be understandable if the dismay felt at yesterday’s announcement Scotland should prepare for a socially distanced festive season turned to dissent as the big day draws nearer. But before we make emotional decisions, born of frustration, which could have serious repercussions for us and our loved ones, it is worth pausing for thought.

If ever there was a scenario guaranteed to spread a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus it is the yuletide family reunion, complete with the visits and overnight stays of relatives from other parts of the country and even the globe.

Even in the north and north-east, where infection rates are relatively low, any complacency or playing fast and loose with the rules could trigger a rapid deterioration in the situation and force the Scottish Government to impose the tougher restrictions already in place in the central belt.

And hard as the next few months are likely to be for families, what of the businesses, particularly those in hospitality already teetering on the brink, who rely so heavily on the festive season to survive?

It is not within the gift of either Nicola Sturgeon or Boris Johnson to make coronavirus disappear, but their respective administrations must pull out all the stops to ensure that even if Christmas is a washout, firms can survive into what will hopefully be a better new year.