Jinay Patel and Duncan van der Roest fill their plates for an early thanksgiving celebration on Oct. 11, 2020 in Cranbrook, British Columbia. Patel and van der Roest both came into town for thanksgiving to spend time with family and friends.
The leaves are changing colour, the air is getting a little bit cooler and the smell of turkey and the rest of the gang fill the air.
Thanksgiving looks a lot different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is Thanksgiving really been about? Some may have different opinions, but a lot of people would say family. It’s about family and friends coming together while breaking bread.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has put a damper on this yearly celebration, with many families unable to come together under pandemic restrictions.
Even if you aren’t able to physically connect with family, the importance of family has grown for a lot of people.
For Heather Spyker, the support family brings during these times is what matters most.
“Especially during a pandemic, when there’s so much isolation, it’s important to stay connected with people that support you and that you can encourage them as well.”
Duncan van der Roest also believes family support is important, but that it also has more practical positive outcomes.
“Talking with family and having communication and community and a support group is so important. When everyone is being isolated, all that’s left is family.”
Finding other ways to connect with family is also important during this time, since meeting each other in person is impossible for many Canadians right now.
“I know for myself; I call my mom every day. We live in Cranbrook and she lives in Abbotsford, so I make a point in calling her every day just to check up on each other. I think it’s really important to have positive encouragement and connection,” says Spyker.
She also believes that the pandemic has brought families closer together, because they have felt the need for human interaction that isn’t always available outside of a family setting right now.
“I would think that it would be stronger through this, because you have more opportunities to do things together, instead of working at the office, you’re maybe working at home and being more involved with a family setting. It gives more opportunities to be connected. It might be a silver lining in the pandemic that perhaps the family unit can be stronger through this,” says Spyker.
Another potential outcome due to the pandemic, is that it may actually lead to the crumbling of families.
“I think that in the future we will see a lot of people with very tightknit families and a lot of different families in how they look and perhaps how they operate. I think you’re going to see a lot of families rejuvenated by the end of COVID and a lot of families completely collapsed under the weight of actually having to find out that they don’t like each other,” says van der Roest.
This opinion may be already showing itself across the world, with divorce rates spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Toronto lawyer, Barry Nussbaum, his firm has already seen a 20 per cent increase in divorce inquiries.
Whether families will crumble under the pressure of these difficult times or be drawn closer together, depends on how they adapt to changing rules.