Family Stories In Three Countries Changing Christmas Celebration Traditions Due To The COVID-19 Pandemic

Illustration (Unsplash / Toa Heftiba)

JAKARTA - No wonder the Christmas celebration this year will be different. With various restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic affecting everyone, many plans for Christmas celebrations have been changed or even postponed altogether.

However, knowing that there are other people who feel the same way, we will be calmer. That's why we summarize the three stories of families from three countries that the BBC tells, about how they celebrate Christmas, and how they find ways to enjoy their holiday during the pandemic.

Playing snow in Sweden

First we start from Sweden. In that country the story of celebrating Christmas came from a small family consisting of Michaela and Emil Boson, as well as their two children Lucas and Casper.

Even though the average temperature in northern Sweden hovers around -2 degrees Celsius, the Boson family will probably be outside all day during Christmas.

They will warm their bodies with various activities. Like skiing, sledding, eating porridge, grilling meat, and drinking Glogg - Swedish wine.

This will be their first Christmas life in Are, a mountain town about 400 miles (643 km) north of Stockholm. Her family moved there in July after Michaela lost most of her job in the pandemic-hit hotel industry.

Meanwhile, one of Michaela's brothers and her two children will join them for some snow activities. However, they will stay in a nearby hotel to reduce the risk of infection. Other relatives will join them throughout the day via video calls.

"It's a little boring not to be with the whole family," said Michaela, who usually seats up to 20 people for Christmas lunch.

But he added that he did not want to return to the city. "Sometimes I feel too happy. It's a cheaper lifestyle [and] we love being out like this."

Eating English turkey in Madrid

The next story came from a family in Madrid, Spain. They consist of Kenza Mekouar and his partner Juan Olaizola, as well as their two children Ivan, 12 years old, and Sofia, who is still 8 years old.

For Kenza and Juan, who have friends and family all over the world, 2020 was the strangest year.

Kenza is from Rabat, Morocco but lives in the hometown of his partner Olaizola in Madrid Spain. The multicultural background in their family makes them speak several languages at home such as English, French and Spanish.

They usually share the Christmas celebrations in Madrid and Marbella. But three months of social restrictions in the spring have kept their children confined at home and canceled several holiday plans.

"I want to make things more fun this year," said Kenza. "We're trying to make things happier, happier."

She had been decorating the Christmas tree earlier than usual and was sending Christmas cards in the mail for the first time in years. Meanwhile, with social restrictions in many parts of Spain, those who used to travel to Marbella to climb the mountains are now discouraging.

But something still doesn't change this Christmas: the food. The family serves up a dish of English turkey after successfully developing the recipe while living in London.

Maintain musical traditions

Then lastly or the third, the story of Christmas celebrations comes from Salzburg, Austria. This family consists of the couple Eva and Graham Crewe and their children, Amelie, 11 years old, Elena, 9 years old, and Matilda, 5 years old.

Eva is Austrian and Graham from England. Usually Graham's parents would come and visit them, but the year was different.

However, they still have hopes of meeting their parents. "We can only see them and not the big family. So it will be very small and less, "he said. "We also couldn't see my 97 year old grandmother, so it would be very different."

The family keeps the traditions of Christmas celebrations in Austria and England, such as distributing gifts on the evening of December 24, and wrapping gifts in Christmas socks in the morning.

"Usually we'll have a big British turkey lunch and all," Graham said. "But this year we're going to save a lot of money because we're going to have chickens instead - and there's only us."

"Everything's canceled, really," Graham said. "And this year's Christmas celebrations will be even quieter."

But they have adapted to ensure some traditions can be preserved. One of them is playing music. Amelie plays the piano while Elena plays the violin. And they will usually perform at the Christmas concert this year.

"I thought we would shoot a video of [playing an instrument] of them and send it to our parents," Eva explained.

Graham is optimistic that next year will be even better. "We have already made plans for next summer," he said. "The thing I look forward to next year is more physical contact with all our friends and family around the world," he concluded.