The 17 School Days of Christmas: Covid continues to prove challenging for holidays

Making the decision to stay away from family on the holidays is hard, but some people are saying that, like the school year and large events such as concerts, the holiday season could be more normal this year.

Last year’s big holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, during the first year of Covid-19, were full of conversations regarding whether or not families should play it safe and stay home or take the risk and spend time with family. 

Many decided that Covid outbreaks were occurring less frequently and got together with family and friends for Thanksgiving. After those gatherings, many more people began getting Covid, which made celebrating Christmas normally even more questionable.

My immediate family drives to Florida for Christmas each year to see my grandparents as well as my 97-year-old great grandma, all of whom are at high risk if they get COVID due to their ages and health conditions. 

My family and I had to make the decision whether to quarantine before we went on our annual Christmas Florida trip last year, which would mean missing out on traditional Christmas parties and dinners, or participating in these events and possibly spreading the virus to relatives in Florida.

We chose to quarantine, as did many other people who simply wanted to stay safe. But safety during this unexpected pandemic was very hard to ensure in the first few months, and possibly even the first year of the pandemic.

However, many people are hoping that with protocols, such as wearing masks, getting negative Covid tests, or getting vaccinated, the normalcy of the holidays will return this year, and instead of spending Christmas worrying about social distancing, people will now be able to enjoy the time with their friends and family. 

Still, getting everyone to agree to these terms is difficult and could cause conflicts and divides within the family dynamic between those who think these precautions are necessary, those who do not, and others who are hesitant to gather in large groups no matter what.

During this holiday season, precautions such as these have lessened many people’s nerves, although they have not completely settled them.

Nobody knows when the Covid chaos will be over, but the choice between spending time with family or playing it safe will be a question until the confusion ends.