I came across this old video from Singaporean producer/actor/singer Alvin Oon from 2020, and it took me back to the time of COVID – when the world stood still, but we still found ways to keep on moving.
It’s him singing “We’re Not Going to Anywhere This Christmas” (sung to the tune of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”). Here’s the video:
He talks about not being able to travel during this Christmas, as we all had to stay at home. But, it’s okay, because he says – “most importantly, is to have you here with me – who could ask for more?”
It’s a lighthearted, cheery song, to the tune of one of the most popular Christmas songs, about not going anywhere and reminiscing about old travels and adventures. And staying at home, but if you have to go out, wear a mask. Unmistakably a product of 2020, and anyone around the world who listens to it will definitely be reminded of their own experience of Christmas during COVID.
The First Christmas in the Pandemic
Much like Alvin, we also lost the option to travel this Christmas. Early COVID days in the Philippines in 2020 was all checkpoints, face shields, and “Enhanced Community Quarantines”. If you remember, this was the time when you had to get a permit to pass from one city to another. You get one permit per family, and you bring it with you if you’re going out to buy groceries.
During December of that year, regulations were starting to relax a little, as the vaccines started to roll out slowly. However, this first Christmas in the time of the pandemic was still widely different from past Christmases.
In our family – much like most Filipino families I would say – we always have these huge reunions during Christmas time. Just the year before, we continued with our yearly tradition of having my wife’s family over before Christmas, and then having my side of the family on Christmas day itself.
This, of course, was not the case in 2020 as large gatherings were prohibited. We were one of the lucky ones though, as our family was complete and all healthy on Christmas that year. Even my apo was over to visit. Really, who could ask for more?
Keeping Tradition
We didn’t spend Christmas Eve together as a family, as was our tradition. There was still a curfew back then, if I remember correctly. I remember we were all on a zoom call while we were all separately having our Noche Buena. However, everyone came to visit on Christmas day. That’s when we took this picture:
It was very good to have everyone together that time, after more than 9 months of being stuck indoors due to the quarantines. We were hopeful because of the vaccines, but we didn’t know what would happen in this “New Normal” that everyone was talking about.
We made it a point to be together because it was tradition, and we didn’t want to change that.
But looking back through that experience of the pandemic, the greatest change that we did, much like the rest of the world, is that we adapted and leveraged the different ways we had to communicate remotely. The world got used to video calls all of a sudden, out of a desire to connect and keep in touch with loved ones.
A New Way of Keeping Touch
In lieu of that big family gathering that Christmas season, we instead had video calls. We sent pictures and videos, on top of the usual messages and calls. It was better in a way, because we were being responsible and staying indoors, and I can actually see the faces of my family instead of being hidden behind face masks and shields if we pushed to meet face-to-face.
As the world opened up, that tradition of keeping connected using technology never went away. Now, we are back to our usual huge family gatherings – but this time, those who were not able to attend will be on some family member’s phone via video call, and we can still talk and catch up even if they aren’t there with us physically.