In these trying times of COVID-19 when we are all required to stay home and stay safe to avoid the spread of the pandemic, we are detached from many loved ones. The new normal is about ‘meeting’ each other online instead of face to face. The digital world has come to our rescue to help us stay in touch with our family, friends, colleagues and classmates through various video chat mediums like Zoom, Skype, House Party, FaceTime and, in fact, apps like WhatsApp, Instagram & Facebook Messenger have good quality video call features as well. Distance has definitely made the heart grow fonder and the bond get deeper.
While the pandemic has kept us physically apart from many people, thanks to social media we haven’t been closer! The pandemic has brought us together in more ways than one, as we fight against the virus together. The physical distance has only grown the bond stronger and has not stopped us from celebrating milestones, festivals and occasions that mean a lot to us personally. From birthdays and anniversaries to graduation and festivals, we have found a way to get together and gotten creative with our celebratory traditions.
We are making new memories, starting new traditions and connecting with our loved ones on a deeper level. As we all stay home, we find it easier to connect with friends and family who live abroad. Due to busy daily lives it was hard to find the time that was mutually suitable for us to connect, but now as we stay home it has gotten easier and more efficient to stay in touch.
When it comes to celebrating birthdays, people have gotten extremely creative by making sweet birthday videos that will stay forever and last longer than a party. Same goes for anniversaries. There exist online games like birthday bingos, tasks for the birthday girl/ boy and more that have made the celebration special in a unique way. For the very first time, we saw students graduating virtually. It’s unfortunate that students who put years of hard work into studying and doing well in college didn’t get a chance to be with their classmates and teachers as they graduated from their alma mater. However, virtual graduations on zoom created a bittersweet feeling for the graduates who were at least lucky to be with their families during such a monumental time.
While birthdays, anniversaries and graduations were celebrated virtually – people started a new trend of having virtual weddings. That is something no one saw coming. People in love and eager to spend their lives together found a way to be together in the middle of a pandemic. They say ‘love conquers all’ and it did! People got their families together on video chatting apps and performed a memorable ceremony and enjoyed every minute of it with complete and pure joy. It is endearing to see the positive in the world and how everyone finds little moments of joy in a crisis. Friends and families have also connected virtually to celebrate major festivals like Eid, Gudi Parva, Ugadi and many more.
Major music festivals like Coachella, Hollywood Bowl, Global Citizen and artist tours were cancelled due the pandemic. However, the artists found a new way to celebrate the love of their loyal fans by hosting free virtual concerts, some that even lasted an entire weekend. Major stars from India put together the concert – I For India, a fundraiser created to raise money for India COVID Response Fund (ICRF) and support COVID-19 relief work in India. Artists have gotten together many times to celebrate and cheer the hardworking health workers around the world who work tirelessly and selflessly.
In these hard times it’s important to see the positive and not stop living life. It is important to try to carry on as normally as one can and not forget to create new memories and celebrate major life events.
