How to Celebrate a Pandemic Christmas
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Hello again. No one wants to think about COVID-19 during the holidays but that’s where we are this year. It could be a potentially fatal mistake to ignore this reality — and extremely irresponsible to friends and family. Better to be extra cautious and focus on being able to tell tall tales about surviving 2020 next Christmas. Here’s a short tale from holiday past to help out this year.
One of my favourite holiday memories came after reporting on an exhausting two-week UN climate change conference in Europe. I met up with family in Vienna and we went to the local Christmas markets. These were often small where the focus is on street food and hot drinks like glühwein (hot, spiced wine). December evenings in Vienna are more often cold and damp, rather than a snowy winter wonderland many imagine. The local markets are a great excuse to get out of the apartment on dreary weekday evenings, have some drinks and hang out with friends and neighbours for a couple of hours.
“Which one do we go tonight?” I’d ask so often family members were worried I’d become hooked on glühwein. It was really the novelty of wandering the city at night in December, not to go shopping, but to find and enjoy a street party with strangers in the xmas spirit.
While Europe’s big Christmas markets are closed this year, I imagine there’ll be lots of informal street parties. Done right, that’s a great way to celebrate the fact we are going to get through this Pandemic Christmas.
How to celebrate safely this year
Christmas is often stressful and can be depressing for some. It could be worse this year if we don’t take some action. Remember we’re all in this mess together. Helping others by reaching out is good for everyone’s well-being. Social distancing doesn’t mean we can’t provide social support through phone and video. We can check on elderly neighbors, friends and relatives who cannot leave home easily. Do something for someone is a Pandemic Christmas need-to-know.
Outside is way safer than inside
Christmas and New Year’s should be turned into communal outdoor celebrations. Outdoor Christmas markets in Europe, particularly Germany and Austria, are a huge deal: A five-week-long outdoor party. In cities and towns these markets sell food and glühwein (hot, spiced wine) and other hot drinks along with Christmas decorations, crafts and other stuff. Many are open every evening for a few hours. The idea is to get outside for a time and meet up with friends
Maybe it’s time to start a new tradition in your neighbourhood where people could meet up on curbsides or in a park, bringing your own drinks and glasses – or cups of tea. Maybe someone could fire up their portable BBQ for hot snacks. Winter tail gate parties? Why not? Just remember to keep two meters apart.
Safer indoor gatherings
If you’re going to have gatherings/parties with people not in your bubble, keep the guest list in single digits. When the visitors arrive ask them to wash or sanitize their hands. One of the best things you can do during a gathering like this is to keep the windows open even if its freakin’ cold outside. Studies confirm fresh air (air exchange) can do a lot to reduce chances of infection indoors. Remember, you can’t tell if someone is infected nor do people know themselves. At least 20% of infected people have no symptoms a new study shows, and many more are pre-symptomatic (takes up to 5 days after infection for symptoms).
Keep the gatherings short; two hours instead of four. That will also save on your extra energy costs (and emissions) from having the windows or doors open. Try and maintain distance. If you must hug someone outside your bubble, keep it short, hold your breath and maybe do it outside.
We’re all tired of the pandemic and people like me telling us what not to do. Recently one bitterly cold night I looked through the window of a cozy bar to see folks enjoying themselves. I was overwhelmed with envy and nostalgia. It looked perfectly safe and a hell of a lot nicer than being outside. I thought about going in, my brain rationalizing the odds of infection based on the current caseload in the area. But caseload is just one risk factor in the COVID safety mantra: Time And Place, People And Space, Caseload and Consequence. When those are considered it wasn’t worth taking even a small risk. And it would be stupid-crazy to take any extra risk when getting a vaccine is just a few months away. It’d be like trying to cross the tracks in front of speeding train to avoid a two-minute wait.
What’s the ideal gift for a Pandemic Christmas? Patience.
And factual information about how to stay safe is a pretty good gift too. Here’s some proof that lockdown measures work, although some work better than others:
A brand new study looked at the actions taken by 34 European and seven non-European countries to stem the epidemic’s growth. Closing all education institutions was one the most important ways that limit infections they found. When colleges and universities reopened in the UK in September it led to nearly 40,000 confirmed cases.
Closing face-to-face businesses, particularly bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, and limiting gatherings to 10 people or less each reduced transmission considerably. Limiting gatherings to 100 or fewer didn’t reduce infections that much. When all those measures were taken, the additional effect of stay-at-home orders was comparatively small.
Sadly the pandemic is set to inflict huge losses over the holidays. On December 16 the U.S. hit a grim new daily record with 3,656 COVID-19 deaths and 276,403 new cases. The University of Washington says deaths could total 500,000 by April even with a vaccine.
It doesn’t have to go that way. It’s more important than ever to celebrate the holidays, so let’s do it with kindness and joy; caution and patience.
My best wishes to you and yours.
Until next time, stay safe.
Stephen
P.S. This the last Need to Know issue for 2020. I hope to write to you again in 2021.