Celebrating Christmas & New Year's Together

Posted on January 7, 2022

Holidays have been some of the most heartwarming and invigorating experiences I’ve encountered throughout my life. Spending time with family, reminiscing, and remembering those who have passed on, these moments are vital to keeping the fabrics of my family dynamic together. Unfortunately, however, yet again the pandemic has thrown a wrench into traditional plans. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Christmas had to be postponed. This month, I’ll discuss the planning behind that and how we could still celebrate that Holiday as a family. 

With the advent of yet another new variant of Covid-19, combined with the seasonal cold and flu, when someone gets the sniffles, it’s hard to know what it could be without further testing. Yet, in early December, plans for our first Christmas back with extended family in several years seemed to be progressing without a hitch. Then, however, a few family members mentioned they weren’t feeling well and needed to quarantine and get tested for Covid-19. So, our family’s Christmas was canceled, and collectively, we were a bit unsure how to proceed until several family members mentioned a tentative date of New Year’s Eve! That was a great idea. It gave family members the time to get tested and quarantine to have the safest holiday celebration possible. 

Celebrating Christmas outside of the typical day of observation isn’t entirely new for my family or me. We once went on vacation to New Jersey, and they had something called “Christmas in July.” That event was such an exciting time for a young child because what kids don’t want to celebrate Christmas twice in one year! Looking back, it showcases that we can observe holidays of our choosing at a time that works best for us. 

As we look forward to 2022, the pandemic is still here with us. And it’s so important to have ground expectations of what can happen in the future. While we all love spending time with friends and family, it’s essential to be safe while celebrating. That means getting vaccinated, social distancing, and quarantining if appropriate. This year Christmas is on New Year’s Eve for my family, and I’m happy the Holiday was postponed so we could all come together safely. 

I want to showcase my appreciation for the readers and the ASDNext staff. It’s been a turbulent year for us all, but I believe we’ll eventually make it through as long as we stay the course. Thank you so much!