Holiday's and COVID 19

By Lila Butterworth

Everyone knows that the holidays this year aren’t going to be the same. Due to COVID-19 most families will be separated these holidays, and some holiday traditions and big events will look very different. But people are still finding ways to celebrate with their families from far away or from right here in Brooklyn!  Our community reflected on how their holidays will be different.

Beatrix Worthington, an 8th grader at 447 said that she will be meeting up with family members that live in Brooklyn and mailing gifts to relatives living further away. She said, “I feel really lucky that my cousins live close to us and we can see them, but I am disappointed because I will miss my grandparents.”

Sierra Weissman, an 8th grader at 447, said, “Normally we go to my grandparents house with my aunt, uncle and cousins, but this year we did it over zoom,” her family also exchanged gifts via mail for Hanukkah.  

Tierney Rose McCabe, a 7th grader at MS447, said her family isn’t going anywhere because, “We’re in a pandemic and if we were to leave we would be going somewhere that’s closed.” Instead her family will be connecting, “With a family group chat and we are just zooming with the grandparents and aunts and uncles.” 7th grader Olive, who preferred not to say her last name, said that her family is going to Connecticut for the holidays. 

“We have a house up there so we’re gonna be up there for a little while, personally I don’t think of it as going anywhere because we are there a lot but it’s not Brooklyn!” She also mentioned that she won’t be staying there with anyone but her immediate family, but her extended family will be sending gifts around.

“I have only helped pick out things for kids in our family”, Olive said, “Not sure about the adults because usually they do Yankee Swap, or white elephant as some people call it, so they all get one gift. Relatives are sending me and my sister gifts though.”

Lucia Chase - Kohn, a 7th grader at MS 447 said, “I am going to go up to the Berkshires with my family to be able to see my grandparents because we always celebrate the holidays with them but this year we're not going to stay with them we’re going to stay in a house near them. Besides my really immediate family which is just you know my mom and dad my sister and my brother and my dog we're going to see my grandparents and maybe my cousins but we're going to be very very safe and make sure that it's even more than 6 feet because I wouldn't want to get my grandparents sick.” She added that her family isn’t entirely sure what they’re going to do. 

This is only the surface of what people are doing this season but perhaps these examples demonstrate that while we may be distant we are still a community.