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Date is exactly
2020-12-25
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2020-12-25
New Traditions
The pandemic marked a turning point for my family. A few weeks before the March 2020 lockdown, my grandmother was hospitalized then placed in her final nursing home. Although my family knew the Alzheimers and cancer were progressing, we never expected a pandemic to make letting go even more difficult. Shortly after her arrival in the nursing home, the building closed down for all outside visitors. For the entire summer of 2020, my family and I had to watch grandma through a screened window. By the time we were finally able to go inside the nursing home to touch her again, it was only because her time was coming to an end. By then, my grandmother only recognized my grandfather, the rest of us were strangers. My grandmother was in many ways the glue of our family. To lose her at a time when we could not see each other in person at holidays was extra difficult, but we adapted and even started new traditions. As a Polish family, we always have pierogi and fish on Christmas Eve and we usually purchased our pierogi from local churches that handmade the delicious dumplings every year. However with the pandemic, most churches did not sell pierogi in 2020 to protect their older community members who made the pierogi. Therefore, we decided to attempt for our first time to make our own pierogi from scratch. Admittedly, the pierogi we made in 2020 were not the best (and we made over 300 of them!), but we did not give up. In December 2021, our families could once again gather in person – our first Christmas together without grandma. We made our own pierogi, and this time my cousins were able to join and help. Not only did the pierogi turn out much better in 2021, but a new tradition became cemented. Although the pandemic provided many hardships, I can't help but be thankful for the two years of stillness and uncertainty it provided. The pandemic allowed me to return to my hometown, reconnect with my family, and start a new chapter in my family's history. I think my grandma would be really proud of our new tradition. -
2020-12-25
Covid Family Holidays
This picture was taken on Christmas Day of 2020. Due to my cancer diagnosis, a weak immune system, and the need or me to socially isolate Christmas gifts were delivered by the matriarch of my family, my mother. Adjusting family holiday traditions has been another consequence of Covid. -
2020-12-25
Pandemic Christmas 2020
This is a polaroid photo of my family getting together on Christmas day in 2020. We are all wearing masks because some of us have more hazardous occupations that may have exposed us to covid. We had been tested but wanted to err on the side of caution. We thought it would make a good picture, and wanted to document our lives during the pandemic. -
2020-12-25
Jesus will understand if you stay home during a pandemic
One of the first things my parents did when they retired and moved to Arizona was find a church. I was very vocal about wanting them to wait to return to large group gatherings but for some strange reason, they seemed to think that they couldn't get covid in church. My mom thought that after all the hardships brought on by the pandemic she needed to be back in church. A month later my dad got sick. We all naively thought it was the flu until I saw the shortness of breath. I told him to get sick and sure enough, he tested positive. Two weeks later my mom contracted Covid. I was hoping it wouldn't hit them too bad but my mom is a diabetic and they are older (late 50's and mid 60's) so I was a bit worried. As the days went by neither of them was getting better. My parents were sick through the holidays, I made Christmas dinner and we ate "together". I dropped off food at their front door then went to their back window where my kids and I ate picnic style. After three visits to the ER for my dad and four for my mom we finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have lost many people to Covid, but it never hit me as hard as when I thought I was going to lose my parents. Thankfully, it was a massive lesson learned for my parents that covid spreads even in the church. -
2020-12-25
The Holidays with COVID
Holidays in America means at least for me have always been a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate. Big parties and gatherings have been a staple of the holidays for years. But this past year has been much different than the years before it. With the global pandemic happening the norm of these parties and gathering became inexistent. This year for the holidays I celebrated over what has become the new norm and that is Zoom. Eating and attempting to celebrate with your family on a Zoom call is one of the weirdest things I have experienced. Well it was nice getting to see everyone's faces doing it over a video call is not the way I enjoy. Hopefully things will turn soon as I am growing increasingly annoying by Zoom and video calls. -
2020-12-25
a COVID Christmas
This Christmas my father unfortunately contracted COVID-19. He was unable to leave his house for two weeks, and it was obvious it hit him hard. My father lives alone and is 71 so my brother and I took it upon ourselves to help him as much as possible and isolate ourselves. We would bring him food and medicine and leave it at his bedroom door to keep a safe distance. During Christmas it was just the three of us eating dinner, but my brother. and I ate in a separate room as our father. It was very lonely but he is all better now with the vaccine so next holiday will be better. -
2020-12-25
Christmas
This years Christmas was not different from the rest of my Christmas'. Every year it is usually just me my sister and my parents at home because my family lives in Iowa. Occasionally my aunt will come over for Christmas but that is really all we do for Christmas. In the end Christmas was not different this year. -
2020-12-25
Christmas 2020
This years Christmas was very different. Because of the pandemic, my family and I could not travel we stayed at home and had a small family Christmas. We went to the beach because we live somewhere were it is always warm. I got to go surfing. We then had a family zoom with our family who lives in New York who we would regularly have been with. Overall I like change and had a great 2020 Christmas! -
2020-12-25
Holidays in COVID
Holidays have never been particularly important in my family. Most holidays would end in a fight between me and my mother so the lack of family interaction wasn't really a big deal for me. My mom ended up driving down from California to spend time with my grandmother and me. These holidays ended up being good as my mom and I got along better. It seems as though without the pressure for the holidays to be fully good my mom and I were able to let go and just enjoy being around each other. -
2020-12-25
Personal COVID Story in 2020
It was during Christmas time, and my aunt wasn't feeling too good. She went to get tested and she tested positive. I had seen her on Christmas day, and she felt sick a few days later. It didn't really affect me, but I got scared thinking that I might have it because I was near her during Christmas. I ended up not getting COVID, thank the Lord. -
2020-12-25
A Pandemic Christmas
Christmas was different for me this year. I grew up with a big catholic family so we have many traditions around the holidays. Christmas eve we all dress up, have a nice dinner, and go to mass. Then on christmas day we dress more casual, open gifts, and have a buffet style dinner. With COVID being a factor, I didn't get to see much of my family for the holidays. I spent the actual day with just my siblings and dad. Christmas Eve I didn’t get to see anyone or do anything, I just stayed home and took pictures with my dog in our matching Christmas pajamas (target has everything). I had to trade gifts with all my cousins and other relatives individually in an outdoor setting. Some of the gifts I dropped off and rang the doorbell. Other family members I would meet with in their front yard from a distance. This year was a bit lonely and we all agreed that when COVID is over (hopefully by next year) we will have a huge celebration. -
2020-12-25
Celebrating Christmas Remotely
I've written a small little recounting of how me and my extended family celebrated Christmas over the app 'house party' on our phones - in comparison with our previous Christmas celebrations it was incredibly small, short lived and felt hollow. In a sense, this feeling was reflected throughout my own household during the whole Christmas break. -
2020-12-25
Garage or Roller Disco?
With quarantine entering its eleventh month, and looking for ways to exercise when it ‘s cold or wet outside, we turned to our garage and roller blades. With 70s disco and r&b bumping, it’s not too hard to pretend we’re at the roller disco. Time to get on Amazon and get some colored lights! Anything to keep us active and having fun even as the pandemic outside these walls shows no sign of slowing. -
2020-12-25
My Covid Christmas
My Christmas was basically normal. The only different thing this year was that all the dogs came there was 8 dogs there! Also some of my older family members did not come. But overall is was surprisingly good. -
2020-12-25
My Covid Christmas
During Christmas break, cases in corona have been higher than they have ever been in the United States. I was only allowed to hang out with my cousins, (who live coincidently down the street) mostly the entire break. During Christmas my mom has to get creative and plan new things for Christmas Eve. She came up with a little holiday party and had so many fun games! We had secret santa and then went to bed! Even though no other holidays, this one felt real. The happiness and joy inside of me was really there to spread along to my family and I had a very little joyful covid Christmas with my family. -
2020-12-25
A Covid Christmas
How COVID impacted a family's traditional Christmas celebration -
2020-12-25
Dewey Christmas 2020
For christmas my sisters and I normally sleep downstairs by the tree then we wake up. After a while we wake up our parents and they get their coffee. We open our stockings first then we open our presents. At around lunch time we get dressed in nice clothes and go to my aunt's and uncle's house. This year was way different. On christmas my sisters and I woke up by the tree and then we woke up my parents after. We opened our stocking mine had pistachios, trail mix, chocolate, earbuds, earrings, an amazon gift card, and cashews. Then we all opened our cards from my grandma. Then we opened our presents. I am not a huge present person but I am so grateful for what I got. I got a comfy Nutella sweatshirt and 2 super cool cookbooks. Then we watched A Christmas Story and Elf. The whole day we read our books that we got and we watched Hallmark movies. For dinner we had tamales and apple cider. -
2020-12-25
Christmas
This picture of a mask is one I wore throughout the holiday season. I wore it seeing family, going in public, and going to establishments. While I have been wearing them throughout the pandemic I wore them a lot more during the holiday season. This made my christmas different because I had to distance and wear a mask the entire time around the people I’ve known the longest for the first time ever. -
2020-12-25
Celebrating Christmas during the Pandemic
This Christmas we had to change some of our traditions. Although it could not all be the same we ended up still having a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas eve we wanted to do something special but everything is closed so we just hang out with each other and then at night we went to a church service. Christmas morning, we really didn't have much planned for Christmas so we decided to head to Mammoth. In the morning we opened up all of our presents and packed our bags and got in the car to go off to Mammoth. Once we got to Mammoth we had a lot of fun skiing. The second night we were there our family friends came up to so we got to have dinner with them and play games. A few days later we went home and that's were our break ended. In all we had a wonderful break but I was also very excited to come back to school. -
2020-12-25
Christmas Story
Me and my family open our presents in the morning. Then we go over do my dads side for breakfast. Our cousins come over to my grandparents house and we open presents. We stay there for a couple hours. Then in the afternoon we go over to my moms side and all my family goes over there. We eat dinner and we open presents. However because of covid this year we weren't able to go to mammoth to ski. My christmas wasn't different at all. We did the same thing that we normally do. -
2020-12-25
My COVID-19 Christmas
My 2020 Christmas was different but some things stayed the same. I started out my Christmas break finishing online school for the semester. After I took my finals I started packing my suitcase to go to Colorado. I was born there and I have my whole family there. My mom and I go every year to visit my grandparents on their farm. My sister is in college in Arizona so she meets us in Colorado for Christmas. This year was different because she couldn't come to our grandparents house. She had to work. So on Christmas day we face-timed her to open presents and it was very fun. Another thing that changed this year was was the plane. We flew on United airlines and the plane was only half full. My mom and I wore masks and got our temperature taken before we entered the plane. We stayed in Colorado for a week and it was super cold, but there was no snow. After we flew home to California I spent the rest of my break playing volleyball at the beach and binge watching TV shows. -
2020-12-25
How Christmas Was different for me in the year of 2020
This year, with the pandemic going around Christmas was a little different. There were several new situations that occurred one of them being the fact that my grandparents couldn't stay long. Due to the fact that COVID-19 mainly only affects people with preexisting conditions or old age, my grandparents had to go before we opened presents. Another new thing this year caused by COVID is that with the free time, my sister who would've been in college spent her free time training a puppy that got to be with us at Christmas time. Besides for situations such as those we had a normal Christmas with family, presents, and church. With church however, to keep things outside and moving with groups separated they die a tour where you met volunteers who told stories dressed as people who were present for the birth of Jesus. -
2020-12-25
Christmas in a pandemic.
This year many families were forced into changing traditions due to California lockdowns. My family did not agree with these lockdown orders and instead went on to host a normal Christmas like any other year. We had more decorations than ever, and we gave out presents to everyone. We went to church on Christmas eve, where it started raining while we were outside, and we visited our cousins and grandparents for a Christmas day dinner. Though we were putting ourselves at risk, everyone there agreed to be there and no one got the virus. My prayer goes out to those who had to scrap traditions for Covid, or just through overall fear. -
2020-12-25
The first Christmas of Covid
Christmas throughout this Pandemic was slightly different from what I would consider normal, mainly because I did not travel to my grandparent's house, which is closer to Sacramento. Otherwise, we got bagels from a local bakery, we opened presents and called our family, so there was no real difference from the normal Christmas that I have come to expect. -
2020-12-25
Christmas in 2020
I experienced a very different Christmas than I would usually know. First, my brother and his girlfriend came over in the morning and we all opened presents, but we were social-distanced and wearing masks. After that, we went to my grandmother's house and we had breakfast. We had pancakes, sausages, bacon, and orange juice. After that, we went to my other grandmother's house and we opened all of our gits from them and we stayed there a while, but we were social-distanced, and wearing masks. Then we went back to my grandmother's house and we opened the rest of my presents. It was a very different experience and I will never forget it. -
2020-12-25
Not normal not as fun
This Christmas was definitely different. On Christmas Eve I had to wear a mask the entire time and we had to eat socially distanced. On Christmas morning I could not get close to my mother due to exposure. My grandpa did not attend Christmas Eve's dinner due to too many participants. This year's Christmas was very odd, but it will always be a good story for my children. -
2020-12-25
Christmas Vacation
It was Christmas Eve. As usual I can't sleep because well you know Christmas. And I remember this was the fist time in 4 years that we had Christmas at our house. Because of covid my grandma come up from where she lived which is in San Diego. So I toss and turn and then all of the sudden my younger brother Milo opens the door and says "Its Christmas! Wake up wake up!" So I got up and realized it was Christmas, yeah it was! I walked down stairs and saw all of the presents. My grandma came over and we started I wanted an iPhone for Christmas and I wasn't sure I would get it. When it was my turn to open my gift I shook it and it made the sound that legos make so I was like ok so a lego not a phone. I opened it and it was a little box that had legos in it. Then I looked deeper in the box and there it was a phone. And that was it. -
2020-12-25
Christmas 2020
My 2020 Christian was just a little different from last year. One main thing that change would be me getting to go to my grandparents and uncles house. For Christmas Day I would usually open my presents at home which my Mom, Dad, and sister got me then go to my Uncles but I wasn't able to because of Covid. Instead My family had called them and had to wish them a merry Christmas. We also weren't able to have friends over or go to friends houses. But everything else was the same. -
2020-12-25
Christmas 2020
This year for Christmas I went to my Grandpa and Grandma's house in Illinois. My cousins who live in Michigan also came to her house so we were all together. My Christmas was a little different because we drove to her house this year. Normally, if we go to her house we fly. However, this year we had our tickets booked but ended up cancelling them last minute due to all the rules and uncertaincy. On Christmas day, nothing was really different except that we had more people and presents to open. After that, we ate a Christmas lunch and just hung out the rest of the day. -
2020-12-25
Christmas day in 2020
My Christmas was very different this year because of this pandemic. Usually my family will do many other things on Christmas day like going to Chicago, ice skating, and also seeing some other family that weren't able to make it this year. Instead we had to change it up this year to make everything safe for our family. We mostly stayed inside of the house but when we did leave we went to the beach and went to go see cool Christmas lights. When we were in the house we were cooking, watching movies, and jumping on the trampoline. This year was pretty different for my family but we found different ways to have fun even if we weren't going any where. -
2020-12-25
Covid Christmas
Every year at Christmas time, my family spends a LOT of time together and we have parties and spend time with friends. This year was a lot different though, parties were cancelled, masks were worn, things were shut down. Two parties were planned with groups of my friends, both were sadly cancelled and replaced to be on zoom. The first party hosted by Tanner was set up to be on zoom on Friday December 18, 2020. We opened gifts dropped off by Secret Santa and watched our favorite Christmas movie, Elf. The second party hosted by Sophia with all girls was on Monday December 21, 2020. We opened gifts and played around with different zoom backgrounds. When Christmas Eve rolled around, my family went to church like we always do, but this time we had to wear masks the entire time with rows in between each family. On Christmas day we did the same as always, open presents then have brunch with my family. It was different but a very fun time. -
2020-12-25
Christmas
This year was pretty much the same as a normal Christmas. We had my grandparents over, opened presents under the tree, and had a big Christmas dinner. The only thing that didn't go as planned was my family from New York was supposed to come over, but they are at high risk with health problems. -
2020-12-25
How my Christmas was different
On Christmas day, my family usually goes over to my aunt's house where we hang out with friends and family we rarely get to see, but this Christmas was different. Instead of going to their house my family stayed at our home and did not get to see them. We where not able to see them at all until 3 days later where were able to Facetime them. Other than that my Christmas was not very different. -
2020-12-25
Christmas Story
Me and my family open our presents in the morning. Then we go over do my dads side for breakfast. Our cousins come over to my grandparents house and we open presents. We stay there for a couple hours. Then in the afternoon we go over to my moms side and all my family goes over there. We eat dinner and we open presents. However because of covid this year we weren't able to go to mammoth to ski. My christmas wasn't different at all. We did the same thing that we normally do. -
2020-12-25
COVID Christmas
As a covid Christmas, we didn't go to the mall as a family to buy Christmas gifts for each other. As a result of this all out shopping was done online so there was a bigger variety of gifts. There were also alot of boxes at our door -
2020-12-25
Covid Christmas
Christmas was different because we did not go to Texas to our cousins. Normally, we go to Texas and all of the cousins go to one house to celebrate Christmas. They still went to the same house, but we didnt. We stayed in California because we did not want to fly out of state with COVID. Also, we were going to go skiing but we didnt because COVID. We spent Christmas at home while not as fun as with cousins it was still great Christmas. -
2020-12-25
Christmas During the Pandemic
This year's Christmas was different. For example, we didn't visit with my Grandpa as much as we normally do, though we did stop by and say hello. Also, My Grandma didn't come by our house on Christmas and do the gift exchange with us. This year, it was just me, my brother, and our parents at home together. -
2020-12-25
Christmas in Covid-19
It was the morning of Christmas Eve. Me, my mom, and my two siblings usually fly to Arizona to see my grandparents but because of Covid we had to drive. It was about a 6 hour trip so not too bad. When we got there, the tradition of every year is my cousins come who I never get to see. But again because of Covid, they cancelled out. To me, Christmas didn't feel like it had in the past. No cousins, wearing masks, I just didn't get in the Christmas spirit. I tried to make the best of it with my grandparents and see the good in that it was Jesus' birth which helped me brighten up my mood. -
2020-12-25
Christmas 2020
The Christmas of 2020 was not too different from past years for me. On Christmas Day, my family opens presents and eats meals together, we did that again this year with little change. Christmas Eve, however, changed a lot. Normally, my family and friends would gather at my Grandmother's house to eat and talk. But, we could not do that in 2020. Instead, we only saw my Grandmother. Overall, Christmas didn't change much, the only thing different was the lack of people. -
2020-12-25
Covid Christmas
On Christmas morning of 2020, we had an unsusually... boring Christmas. We would usually have family over for the holidays, or we would go and visit. This time it was the four of us, My father, mother, my younger brother, and me. My brother and I entered the living room where our Christmas tree was displayed, We had quite a few presents under our tree this year. So my brother and I took our turns and opened gifts. One of my Uncles would usually be so frustrated with all the wrapping paper on the ground when presents were being opened. He wasn't here his time, so everytime trash was being picked up my brother would say "It's the ghost of our uncle....." When the presents were opening my brother and I were bragging about what we got, and then our Christmas morning was essentially over. Since we didn't have family over thisyear we invited a few friends to come over since they didn't really have much to do either. They came over and we had quite a bit of fun the rest of the day. Although it wasn't as lively as Christmas with our family was. We then sat down to eat dinner which was prime rib, greens, macaroni and cheese, shrimp, and dinner rolls. We later on went to bed as nothing else had to be done. -
2020-12-25
Covid-19 Christmas
My parents and my grandparents had been texting about what we were going to do for Christmas with Covid-19. We had stayed apart on Thanksgiving so we were planing to do the same thing but we really wanted to be together on Christmas like every year. I woke up at 9:00 AM and went over to my parents room. We eventually went downstairs after everyone woke up but it was weird. Last year my uncle stayed with us and he was there when we woke up. We open our presents in the morning and then around 2:00 PM my grandparents either come see us or we go see them. This year we had to be on zoom and it was weird. When I went to sleep that night it did't feel like we just had Christmas. -
2020-12-25
Lonely Christmas
This Christmas was a lonely and strange one. My family usually goes to San Antonio and Austin Texas to see all my mom's family. Though, this year my family and I have to stay home to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It felt weird this year also because on TV everything is virtual and nobody is together. Finally, this year it felt that the 'Christmas Spirit' was less than in years past. -
2020-12-25
What was Christmas like for me and my family during COVID-19
During the month of December, my family I had some very challenging obstacles in the way. One being we couldn't have anyone over for Christmas dinner not only that but have people over in general. Another thing that has to do with not seeing each other is everyone is mailing things and a result of this is packages and gifts not making it on time. Something else to do with packages and mail is manufacturers aren't working because of COVID-19. These are some struggles and problems I had this Christmas. -
2020-12-25
A COVID-19 Christmas
This Christmas was very different from any other Christmas. I am a 14 year old girl and I live with my parents and my two sisters. Every year my family goes skiing right after christmas for about two weeks but this year we couldnt go. My family and I stayed home for christmas eve and christmas. On christmas eve we had a home cooked meal and played boardgames together. The next day it was a very quiet christmas, we didnt do much, we made hot chocolate and opened presents from eachother. My birthday was the 28th right after christmas and it was very similar. I was kind of sad over the holidays because we couldnt see family and we couldnt travel. -
2020-12-25
covid holidays
My brother, parents, dog and me always go to Ohio to spend Christmas and new years with our family. This year, it was different. First of all, we had to wear masks on the airport and plane, and the seats were spaced out. When we went Christmas shopping we had to follow Covid rules to stay safe. Also, we usually go to our family's church for a new years celebration, but we skipped this year and went to see another part of our family in Kentucky for new years, because it was not safe. Sadly, the holidays this year were different, but at lease we were staying safe and keeping other people safe. -
2020-12-25
Christmas
Christmas day was different for me because we didn't have any extended family over. Our extended family usually brings food and we play board games and stuff. I always just hang out with my cousins too. My mom says they love spending time with me so I decided that I wanna spend even more time with them than i already have been, except not recently due to covid.. This time, most of what I did was just boring stuff. I did still hang out with my family but it was just less festive and we all felt a little more exhausted. I did grill short ribs though, they were really good and I'm actually really glad I did that. But I really burnt some to a crisp and they just crumbled apart if I tried to pick them up. I couldnt see if they were cooked well or not because the fire was too big. I also built a robot which was one of my Christmas presents and it took me about 3-4 hours to do, I still have to try and program it though and assign which buttons do what on the remote controller it came with. I think I'll do that this weekend since I really wanna figure it out, I've just been a bit too lazy with it and never got to programming. But other than that i just talked about football and food with basically everyone. Although it was exhausting, it was still fun to do since it was different. -
2020-12-25
Christmas 2020
My family did what we always do for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we all went to church. Our church, Calvary, in Westlake Village, California, had 2 in person service so we went to the one at 3. We had to wear masks and social distance, but you had to do that everywhere. Being inside a church was a weird feeling because we haven't been in the church for about 10 months due to Covid-19. Then my grandma, mom, aunt, uncle and sisters, went to my aunt and uncles house for dinner. We were suppose to get beef Wellington but the butcher messed up and gave us steak, which defiantly worked for me. We played games like scene it and 80's music trivia. Then my sisters, mom, grandma and I left because to was 10 pm. My grandma slept over on Christmas Eve like she used to when we were littler. We woke up the next day and my sisters and I opened gifts from "santa" and my mom. We then went over to my aunts and uncles for a brunch and opened gifts from each other. It felt pretty normal all together but when we go out into public it is not by far. -
2020-12-25
Nicola Sturgeon defying everthing meme
Nicola Sturgeon showing what she thinks of covid mask wearing and brexit