This year millions of people celebrated Easter and Passover very differently than many of us had expected. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families around the world were forced to celebrate Easter and Passover with minimal people or had to put the holiday festivities on hold until these social distancing guidelines are over. Despite the fact that President Donald Trump said a few weeks ago, “Trump told reporters during the daily press briefing it was his idea — and not that of his medical experts — to suggest Easter which falls on April 12, as a potential date by which the US would again be ‘raring to go’” (CNN). This, unfortunately, was not able to happen as there is still a large number of coronavirus cases throughout the country.

My own family had a very different Easter celebration this year, where we only celebrated with the five of us living in my house. We are so used to going to my aunt’s house for our annual Easter brunch and celebrating with my mom’s family, and then going back to my own house to host dinner for my dad’s family. Unfortunately, this year we were only able to see each other over a busy Zoom video call, and I was only able to celebrate with my immediate family in my household. On the plus side, we did get to stop over my uncle’s house but stood six feet away in order to talk to each other. 

Many families are also so used to going to Easter Sunday mass at church in the morning, but instead only had the option of watching a live mass on television or online. Elderly people were also forced to spend Easter and Passover by themselves since many families are keeping their distance from elderly family members as they are more susceptible to COVID-19. Since we were still under social distancing guidelines when Passover occurred on April 8th, many Jewish families were also unable to be with their families and celebrate the way they normally would or planned. Regarding how her family celebrated

Passover this year, senior Rina Levine said, “This year we couldn’t have my sister and grandma over which was sad because we always spend Jewish holidays together. We stayed connected through FaceTime and we even ate dinner with my grandma while on FaceTime”. Similar to many families around the country, they had to celebrate their holiday virtually which no one had planned to do originally. An article from Buzzfeed News about how different Passover was this year says, “The year will be the first in memory that my dad’s house in suburban Connecticut lies quiet around this special time, as it’s become painfully clear that social gatherings are no longer tenable as everyone in the US works to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus”. 

The global impact of the coronavirus puts our current dilemma into perspective for everyone. Many sacrifices are being made and precaution is being taken as people make an effort to adhere to the social distancing guidelines. This pandemic has proven to impact each of us, regardless of class, race, or religion. Going forward, our continued efforts will both unify and encourage us to appreciate spending simple holidays among our loved ones.