An inconvenient Christmas?

Christmas is usually a time for getting together. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year will be different – but there are still ways to stay connected

A post by Mika Engelhardt and Laura-Marie Buxmann

Wednesday, 23 December 2020

Christmas is usually a time for getting together: enjoying good food with the family, freezing our feet off at Christmas markets with friends, drinking mulled wine together and shopping for last-minute presents in crowded cities. This year, the whole Christmas experience will be very different due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But does this really mean Christmas is going to be a right let-down this year?

It was an awe-inspiring, almost unprecedented moment. On 9 December 2020, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had to audibly and visibly fight back her tears and emotions whilst addressing parliament to discuss whether it was necessary to tighten the Covid-19-related restrictions just a few days before Christmas. This unusually emotional appearance underlined what everyone had already realised about Christmas 2020: this year, everything will be very different.

The Corona Holidays

As winter continues, Covid-19 is surging around the world, leading to the closure of restaurants, bars, theatres, cinemas and museums. Travel is restricted and people are urged to stay at home and spend the festive season alone or in the smallest possible groups. Since the beginning of November, Germany had been trying to reduce the number of new Covid-19 infections through what is known as a ‘lockdown light’ – a model that allowed many shops to remain open and urged people to act responsibly. But the figures did not fall. They reached new highs every week. As of a few days before Christmas, the daily average of new cases stood at 30,000, and between 700 and 900 lives are usually lost to the virus. It became increasingly clear that the ‘light lockdown’ was not effective. That is why Angela Merkel gave her speech, and that is also why the German government decided to impose stricter restrictions from 16 December.

These restrictions include the closure of all non-essential shops (e.g. clothing, multimedia, toys, books), an earlier start to the holidays for schools and nurseries, a ban on alcoholic drinks in public places, a ban on the sale of fireworks before New Year’s Eve, and strict rules on how many people from how many households are allowed to meet. For Christmas, these rules are relaxed to allow families to gather, but on New Year’s Eve, they remain strict. This is not only sad for people; it is also tragic for shops, restaurants and cultural events. All these venues and businesses usually rely on the festive season to generate a significant portion of their annual profits.

Let’s first take a look at the figures to see what sort of sums we’re talking about. November and December are among the busiest months of the year for businesses. In the retail sector in particular, around 18 per cent (furniture and clothing) and 25 per cent (books and jewellery) of annual profits are usually generated within those two months. The average German spends somewhere between 250 and 500 euros on the festive season alone, although there are conflicting figures on this point.

This vast amount of money results in astonishing figures. Even with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is estimated that Christmas sales in 2020 will total 103.9 billion euros, up 1.2 per cent on 2019. This still represents an increase, albeit by a significantly smaller margin than in previous years. Generally speaking, it can be said that since 2010, there has been an annual increase in Christmas-related sales.

For some fun facts, in 2020, 151 million chocolate Father Christmases were produced in Germany. 29.8 million Christmas trees were sold in 2019 (figures for 2020 are not yet available as Christmas tree sales are still ongoing). 36 per cent of Germans would like to finish all their Christmas shopping in the first half of December. Many fail to do so. And in 2020, the Christmas present of choice for Germans is the gift voucher – which is understandable, given that many shops have had to remain closed and can only offer these.

So right now, we’re faced with closed shops, no chance to go out to shop or meet friends at a Christmas market, everyone is worried about seeing their grandparents over the festive season, and most people have switched to doing their Christmas shopping online. The German postal service is having to cope with unprecedented numbers of parcels that need to be delivered before Christmas. Between 2019 and 2020, the proportion of online Christmas shopping rose by 4 per cent, from 14.4 to 18.3. This has resulted in sales worth 17.5 billion euros. This is in line with a trend over recent years showing that people are increasingly turning to online shopping. For example, in 2007, only 3.2 per cent of all Christmas shopping was done online, and that figure has risen steadily ever since. However, the 4 per cent increase from 2019 to 2020 is still significant; the usual increase is around 1 to 1.5 per cent.

The government is trying to help struggling businesses by passing legislation to provide funding to local authorities and retail outlets. There is also the possibility of reducing or even waiving rent, as shops are unable to operate. But the sad reality is that some shops, pubs and restaurants will never reopen. They were already struggling due to the restrictions in early 2020, and the lockdown around Christmas is simply too much for many to cope with.

New ways of celebrating Christmas

Christmas 2020, viewed from that perspective, seems rather bleak and depressing. But wherever there is fear and hopelessness, people are finding ways to lift their spirits and bring some Christmas cheer in unusual ways. We’d like to share some of these with you now. Many small businesses have moved online and are offering a collect-or-delivery service. This is a great way to support them without having to stand in a crowded shop. Of course, there is also the option of shopping online, but that does not help the smaller, struggling shops. Even some restaurants have developed special menus and delivery services for the festive season. In Germany, many people enjoy fish or goose for Christmas, and there are several restaurants offering complete Christmas menus for whole families to take home rather than eat in. And finally, there’s a case to be made for DIY presents. Not only do they come from the heart and are made with care, they are also more sustainable and environmentally friendly than delivered parcels or factory-made goods. As for the Christmas spirit, we must all bear in mind that Christmas hasn’t been cancelled. There is still a wide variety of things we can do to brighten up our days. Watching Christmas films, baking biscuits, and decorating rooms and trees are things that are just as possible in 2020 as they were in 2019.

Some people might be sad that Christmas parties and even workplace get-togethers had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, but the internet offers fun alternatives. In 2020, we’ve all become best friends with services like Microsoft Teams, Skype and Zoom, and the platforms we usually use for studying or working work just as well as virtual spaces for hosting a Christmas party, playing games and generally having a good time. There are also special platforms for digital gatherings, such as gather.town, which allow users to create virtual spaces, games rooms and party venues. Using their digital avatars, users can then walk around these venues and video chat with the people they ‘meet’ there. One of the authors of this blog post had the opportunity to join one of these parties and had a really good time. It’s even possible to meet new people and colleagues this way, and it has the added fun of being a game-like experience.

And whilst Christmas markets had to remain closed this year, some of them have also moved online. In Germany, there is a platform that lets users choose their preferred cities and stroll through a virtual Christmas market, where they can shop just as they normally would. If you’d like to give it a go, here’s the link: https://wintermarkt.online/. For a more sophisticated alternative, some Christmas market stalls have launched mulled wine, bratwurst and roasted almond delivery services – usually just a Google search away. Finally, many cultural venues, such as theatres, have developed Christmas-themed entertainment over the past year and are now presenting it via online streams. Christmas is a time when many people go to see a show or a play, and this is a way for them to still enjoy those experiences whilst supporting their local theatres. For example, the Staatstheater Darmstadt is offering its child-friendly play ‘Aladdin and the Magic Lamp’ as an on-demand stream over the festive period. As a student in Darmstadt, you can even watch it for free, though you can also choose to buy a ticket to support the performers. And our tips for things to do on New Year’s Eve? Good question! Just stay the f*ck at home. Have a relaxing evening, enjoy the unusual silence and think about the millions of pets in Germany who won’t have the worst night of their year because of all the lights and fireworks. Have some good food. It’ll all be fine.

In conclusion, yes, Christmas will be very different this year. There have been a lot of unfortunate developments and it’s a real shame not to be able to see and hug friends and family over the festive season. Businesses are also struggling and some might never open again. But we should also bear in mind that Christmas hasn’t been cancelled. It can still go ahead; we can still get into the Christmas spirit and do our best to enjoy a few lovely, relaxing days during these uncertain times. Hopefully, by next year, things will be back to normal and we’ll be able to meet up, visit Christmas markets and get annoyed by the huge crowds in the shops again.

But until then: stay safe, stay positive (no, not that positive!) and have a wonderful Christmas! We’ll see you next year. Enjoy the festive season.