Why is everyone so bothered about the rule of 6 and Christmas.....

You can go grouse shooting at Christmas and meet as many people as you like.

Thank you NotTooOld and yes please feel free to call me GNW. I’m embarrassed by my ridiculously long name on here. I made several attempts during registration before I could come up with an unused name and ended up with this one!

I remember there was a big outcry about Ramadan and Eid, probably will be about Diwali as well but please remember this is the UK (at the moment!) and Easter and Christmas are our big Christian events however remember the families of 41,637 people probably more who will not have their family member present for any celebration. Halloween, Diwali, Christmas are givens. They will happen regardless but differently this year.
Last Christmas was a disaster for us anyway as several family members including children had norovirus then DGD probably had coronavirus for a few weeks starting February before the pandemic began as she had all the symptoms and was very poorly with a high temp which lasted for 3 weeks, cough which lasted longer, aches and pains and tiredness which again lasted longer than 3 weeks. Began just after her 3rd birthday and yes she had had the norovirus at Christmas poor mite. Happily all better now.

Well said, GrannyNannyWanny. (Can we call you GNW?) Also agree with Alegrias.

Isn’t it jumping the gun a bit to assume in barely mid September that the current restrictions will still be in place at Christmas?

If things improve the 6 people rule could be lifted.

Actually, our Muslim friends seem to enjoy Christmas too, as a time of family get-together, good food and presents and a time to remember old friends.
How many people, Christian or non-Christian, celebrate it as a religious festival?

Ramadan and Diwali have more religious significance than Christmas for many.
Easter is the most important festival in the Christian festival.

MOnica, our area has a large Muslim community. There seemed general agreement that the announcement that effectively cancelled Eid coming the night before was shocking. People talked about it in terms of cancelling Christmas on the evening of Christmas Eve.
I don't see it as any kind of competition about which faith/non faith community is suffering the most. It's been a tough six months already, with no sign of any return to anything like 'normal' life for any of us.
I also feel concerned that we live in an increasingly divided society. Polarised views seem to have become the norm. There have been some who blame the spike on gatherings that went ahead at Eid, at Diwali, or at large Muslim weddings or funerals, which have taken place locally. Alongside that, we have evidence of people failing to quarantine on return from areas with high covid incidence, instead going on pub crawls or holding large house parties.
We need to pull together during these dark days. Sorry to sound dramatic!

We don’t know yet what we’ll be able to do in 12 weeks but we’re making plans to accommodate all eventualities! We’re hiring a camper van for a week and visiting assorted offspring for a couple of days each. I’m quite excited actually-always fancied a camper van! The village is still having a tree and lights, we’re doing a virtual panto and there are moves afoot to get every house in the village to light up their front windows. There’s also a virtual Halloween being planned. Where there’s a will and all that!

I have Christian friends, Jewish friends, Sikh friends and Muslim friends and all of them/us have had to forego various celebrations and gatherings this year die to COVID. No one, as far as I'm aware, has said that any religious festival has been more, or less, impacted by COVID than any other. Doesn't make it any less sad and disappointing for any of us though does it? We're all just grinning and bearing it, especially children and it's with them that my thoughts are at Christmas, Eid, Divali or Hannukah celebrations.

Well said, Doodledog.

It’s not a competition for who is suffering the most, and feeling sad about potentially not seeing our families at a time when we usually celebrate together doesn’t imply lack of sympathy for people of other faiths (or none) who have also missed out.

There is nothing shameful about feeling sad about something, and the fact that others are feeling bad too should not, IMO, be used as a stick to beat us.

MOnica I’m not ignoring other faiths or beliefs, but we don’t know anyone of other faith groups, or have friends in those groups. Probably where we live, small village, working lives, families, we can’t pretend to know something we have no understanding of, that would be disingenuous. We can and do have acknowledgment and sympathy for those whose traditions and family celebrations have/will be disrupted across the whole of the UK.
Personally, we could meet, we have 6,; in reality, daughter and GC’s in school, son in a shared house, it’s unlikely. It would be the first year in my children’s and grandchildren’s lives we have not spent Christmas together. Planning bbq next summer ?

M0nica' What about the rug being pulled at Easter.
Easter family lunch, Easter egg hunts with our grandchildren.

Easter is a big deal in our family.

As for Halloween it Will go ahead with a few tweaks.

Christmas will go ahead, it cannot be cancelled.

Will we be eating with our family? who knows.
But Santa will be visitng with presents for our grandchildren's .
We will see the children's presents in person or via WhatsApp.

If there are no visits to Santa's grotto, Father Christmas will (dressed in all his regalia) WhatsApp my grandsons.

The children have missed out enough this year.
We have had 60 + years of Christmases.
Whatever the religious/non religious festival, it is not about us, imho it is the children who matter.
Their mental health has suffered enough.

Yes I’ll be sad we can’t get together with loved ones. Like many I can’t currently have any of them in my house due to local lockdown restrictions. If I am alone on Christmas Day it’s a small price to pay while we try to keep each other safe.
There are already too many families who will have a permanently empty chair at the dining table due to covid. I’ll do anything it takes not to have my own precious family included in those statistics.

Good point Ellianne.

M0nica

This thread was not intended to be all about what we are missing, but about realising that other communities are as much affected by these events as we are and we should be making as much fuss about the spoilation of Eid and Diwali, to name but two as we are of limitations on Christmas.

Well I dare say that any GN Grans who are looking forward to Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Hogmanay, Eid or Diwali share the feelings of those of us who don’t. And why assume nobody has thought about other communities?

You can only speak from your own experience so for me, the family get together is over Christmas.
But frankly I am not beating my breast or rending my garments, but hoping that as I am now on my own , I will not be spending Christmas with Zoom or FaceTime.

We would have been eighteen for Christmas lunch at our house. Am I disappointed? slightly but if it means keeping my family safe it is a small price to pay. I have dear friends who couldn’t celebrate Eid, others who cannot celebrate Diwali with their families.

I shall decorate our house from top to bottom and put lights in the front and back gardens, it will still be Christ’s birthday just celebrated different this year ???

I think the reason is M0nica that Christmas, 25th and 26th December are public holidays, so whether Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim etc. the whole country stops for Christmas. Because workplaces and shops shut down usually this time is spent in families whatever religion one might be. I have Jewish friends who love Christmas because they all have time off together, similarly our Muslim neighbours when we lived in East London send Christmas cards all round and had parties. Their Christmas is as much affected as ours.
The old meaning of Christmas may have diminished but it is still an important family get together event for a few days nationwide, and I'm guessing that is why we are all bothered by the 6 rule at this time.

merlotgran

Well, I'm not going to apologise for feeling a little bit sad about Christmas.

Me too, merlot.

And, I understand how other communities feel too. A friend is Jewish so Hannuka is spoiled too.

M0nica

...or Halloween. Remember the shut down at the end of Ramadan? The evening before Eid, the big celebration for Muslims, with homes and restaurants stacked with food and tables laid. Then the government pulled the rug from under them. No national outrage then.

What about Diwali, due mid November? I haven't seen any outrage over the fact that that celebration as well will be affected. As it is six weeks before Christmas, it is more likely to be affected.

Yes, we all love Christmas and Halloween, it will be sad if there are limitations, but let us remember all those other communities who do not celebrate Christmas and whose own celebrations and festivals, are as important to them as Christmas is to us, currently, they seem to be expected to just grin and bear it. If they have/will have to do it then so can we.

Well said Monica!!

Actually, I don't recall a song and dance being made to the disruption to Easter, either, which occurred during lockdown this year. This is an important time for Christians and a time when many families like to get together whether they follow the religious side to Easter or not. We just accepted it as having to be the case. I think the same will apply for Christmas (and to a lesser extent, Halloween/bonfire night) but also other important celebrations such as Divali, Hanukah, etc. Well, let's face it, what other choice do we have?
It will be a disappointment to many of us not being able to participate in the usual family gatherings, going to Carol services, Christmas markets, etc (although perhaps to some a relief judging by the number of posts that appear in the run up to Christmas with anxious GN's wondering who to go to, who to include/exclude, etc).
Yes, it's going to be a very different time this year, but hopefully next year we'll be back to normal, of a kind, anyway.

Well, I'm not going to apologise for feeling a little bit sad about Christmas.

My point was that whilst we are all disappointed for everyone who will be affected by being unable to have large family gatherings at festivals the restrictions - whether a rule of six or a full lockdown - are not going to be permanent.

We just have to make the best of life and special occasions under whatever restrictions are in operation at any point in time.

Sorry

This thread was not intended to be all about what we are missing, but about realising that other communities are as much affected by these events as we are and we should be making as much fuss about the spoilation of Eid and Diwali, to name but two as we are of limitations on Christmas.