In the past, it has taken me a bit of time to warm up to feeling festive for the Christmas season.
Usually around this time I’m dreading the early beginning of Christmas music hitting the radiowaves, and the reminders we only have a short amount of time to buy gifts.
But this year is different. It has been a difficult year for many people, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us haven’t been able to see our friends or distant family members as often, due to restrictions on gatherings. Some people have even lost loved ones from the virus. Small business owners have gone through the added stresses of having to close down for a portion of time and having to prepare their businesses for the new normal.
It’s a time of uncertainty, communities don’t know if or when they will be placed back in an earlier stage of opening by the provincial government, if case numbers from the second wave will start to spike, or what this Christmas season will look like as far as gatherings go. The pandemic has been hard enough on peoples’ mental health, but the lack of sunlight and colder temperatures of the winter season definitely won’t help.
Christmas can act as a bit of an escape for people this year. To many, Christmas represents hope and happy memories. It’s when we see movies with happy endings, get to spend time with the people we care most about, see beautiful light displays on houses and around the municipalities we live in, and remember how fortunate we are to have the lives we do.
So, it’s ok to: indulge in watching Christmas movies a little bit earlier this year; put up the Christmas tree a little bit sooner than you usually would; and be already thinking about what your light display will look like on your house or yard this year. Right now, I think we need festive cheer more than ever.