大象传媒

From Sheridan Voysey, Writer and broadcaster:听
The American comedian George Burns famously defined happiness as having a 鈥渓arge, loving, caring, close-knit family鈥� in another city.鈥� Anyone who鈥檚 witnessed eggnog-fuelled family feuds on Christmas Day knows what he means, and may have even whispered hallelujah at Covid giving them an excuse this year to stay home. Others of us, however, aren鈥檛 rejoicing over a Covid Christmas. An internet search on the phrase 鈥淲ill we have Christmas this year鈥� currently returns 2.7-million results, suggesting the prospect of a festive season separated from loved ones is already weighing heavily on our minds.听
Ever since moving here from Australia nine years ago I鈥檝e had to prepare for Christmas early鈥攍argely to avoid the embarrassment of my cards not arriving on time. But early on a more pressing problem surfaced鈥攐ver my elderly parents. With both sons living away, and a costly, jetlag-inducing, 40-hour door-to-door flight home not always possible, Christmas Day was becoming a lonely prospect for them. Calling them on the day wasn鈥檛 enough. I needed a solution. I first started believing in prayer because the Bible told me to. Now I believe in it because through it I find solutions I wouldn鈥檛 otherwise get.听
Praying about this problem one day, an unexpected idea dropped into my mind, which we tried the following Christmas Day. My wife and I dressed in our best clothes, we decorated our table with candles and fairy lights, stacked up our presents and brought out the Christmas food, then placed a laptop at the opposite end of the table. My parents did the same, and wearing our silly party hats from our simultaneously-popped Christmas crackers, we 鈥榗linked鈥� our glasses through the screen and drank, ate, and opened gifts as if we were all seated together. Several years on, this digital dinner has become a fun Christmas Day tradition. We don鈥檛 know yet what restrictions will be in place this Christmas.听
The situation could well be having our 鈥渓oving, caring, close-knit family鈥� in another city, or even socially-distanced next door. But I鈥檝e discovered that planning a leisurely 鈥榙igital dinner鈥� on Christmas Day can bring a lot of joy and connection. It might even be the answer to your prayers as much as it has been mine.