This year there is no alternative but to live a different kind of Christmas. However, this does not mean that we cannot enjoy this festive Christmas period. Actually, it is all about being aware of the difficult times we are living through, due to the pandemic, and to learn how to welcome Christmas in a different way. It is obvious that we would all have liked to enjoy Christmas in the same way as we did in previous years, but as we already know this will be absolutely impossible. The celebrations will be limited to a maximum number of ten people, children included. Curfew will continue to be in force in all the national territory on Christmas Eve and on New Year´s Eve. Nonetheless, in these special days the closing time will be extended to 1.30 am. The authorities are sending out at Christmas the same message since the first irruption of the pandemic took place: avoid social contact and minimize visits to friends and relatives. But how can we achieve this at Christmas which is when we get together most, in the entire year, to celebrate? As we have already said, the first step we must take is to prepare ourselves mentally that this will be a very different Christmas. It is not an easy task but it is not an impossible one. Once assumed, we can use the tools within our grasp to get closer to our relatives and friends whom we will not be able to see. Social networks and technology connect people and these days they can help us feel closer to our loved ones.

AN ATYPICAL NEW YEAR´S EVE

The circumstances we are living through are especially hard in a city like Madrid where Christmas time is one of the most eagerly awaited dates of the whole year. Christmas street lighting in Madrid has already been put up but the influx of people has dropped very much. For many families, who do not live in Madrid, it was sort of a tradition to spend a few days in the capital city to soak up the Christmas atmosphere. This is why it strikes us when we take a walk around the city and find it much less crowded than in previous years. According to many psychologists, our personal predisposition when facing the times we are living through is a fundamental factor in order to enjoy these festivities. That is to say, the enjoyment of this Christmas depends, much more than we think, on ourselves. If we stay positive and think that these difficult times are on the process of being overcome, then we can really enjoy to the full these festivities, even though they will be different. New Year´s Eve will be in all likelihood the strangest and most atypical day this Christmas in Madrid. This Christmas the 12 chimes of midnight on New Year´s Eve in Puerta del Sol will not bring people together; this year we will have to spend New Year´s Eve at home, something that has never happened before. However, this can be a memorable experience; why not? The way to face it depends only in our own mind: if we approach it in the best possible way then maybe we can get it to become a very worthwhile experience.  

LUNCHES OR DINNERS WITHOUT LEAVING HOME

Given the restrictions to avoid contagion we know these are not times for lunches or dinners… Or are they? We must say that at present it is possible to order any kind of meal without leaving home. Even the oldest restaurant businesses have adapted to these new times and they offer meals to be delivered at home. For many Madrileños it is unthinkable to spend Christmas without dinners. Once more, technology has enabled social events to take place without having to get together. There already exist platforms that offer virtual dinners taking simultaneously the meal to each table companion´s house and so the dinner can be shared with friends or relatives by means of a video call. As we can see, once again technology makes it possible that a difficult Christmas becomes a bit more normal.