I’ve been thinking a lot lately about celebrations.
In this season of stay-home orders and cancellations, most of our public celebrations have been canceled. Weddings, birthday parties, sporting events, proms – celebrations of life and community are being put on hold. It’s a time of grief as we mourn both large and small losses, many of which are directly related to not being able to celebrate anything the way we had planned.
And as we head toward a large Christian holiday, the absence of celebration begins to feel even more noticeable.
For those of us used to Christian traditions, we’re stuck with a lot of questions. How do we celebrate Easter without gathering in church? Do we just skip Easter lunch altogether? Especially for those of us without small children in our homes, it feels like it might be easier to treat this weekend as just another series of days in what is becoming a long streak of nebulous time. (My friends and I keep saying we need to buy those throw-back Days of the Week underwear so we know what day we’re on.)
It’s tempting to just let the days blend together, to postpone celebration, to simply exist until further notice. (Even more so for those of us with mental illnesses or a history of addiction.)
But is that helpful?
Certainly, if all you can manage is to continue, to get through, that’s okay. Do what you can to live through this.
But if you are able, finding ways to still celebrate life and community is essential to having memorable moments. If I do not celebrate anything in this time, when I look back it will be an ambiguous mass of days that I spent keeping on. I had a sudden realization last weekend that even if it ends in May, my quarantine experience is going to have taken up a large percentage of the year 2020. Am I willing to have months of my life be entirely forgettable?
Of course, finding ways to celebrate right now is difficult – especially in safe ways. But it’s possible, as long as we reframe our expectations. For instance, this week my favorite soccer player turned 28. My roommate and I decided to celebrate this (that’s not something we would normally do, FYI. I’m a fan but I’m not obsessed. Yet.) We joked about yelling at each other in friendly ways (something this player does a lot of) and decided to do an extra run after our workout. It wasn’t much, but it will be memorable. A little thing we chose to celebrate in little (maybe even silly) ways.
When it comes to Easter, we’re actually in good company. My friend Matt recently tweeted, “Easter and social distancing is more traditional than getting together.” He was sort of kidding, but he’s also not wrong. So many Christians in history have had to (and still do) celebrate Easter quietly, in their own homes, out of fear of persecution. Although we in the United States are used to flaunting our Christian faith, many Christians around the world have to celebrate the resurrection without any gatherings or fanfare.
And as I contemplate this, it occurs to me that this is the best possible time to celebrate the resurrection. If ever we needed a Savior to conquer death, to fight against loneliness and sin and fear, it’s now. If ever we needed to remember the hope of the empty tomb, it’s in a time of corporate grief. Celebrating Easter may not look like how we want it to or are used to, but we can still find little ways to make it meaningful, to focus on hope and joy.
So, my friends. I’m going to try to celebrate in the coming weeks. I will try to celebrate little things by cheering or pouring a margarita or making banners. And I will try to celebrate the amazing story of the defeat of death, by…well, I’m not sure yet how I’ll celebrate.
What about you? How will you celebrate life and community this week? Have any ideas for me?
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